Heroes: Nothing Stronger
by Skyelah
Summary: Audrey had a normal life. She had never been special. Until suddenly, she was.   Genesis to Brave New World. Peter Petrelli/OC
1. Chapter 1: Dreams

**April, 2006  
>New York City, New York<br>**  
>It was raining, as it had been for the past 2 weeks in New York City. Great, fat droplets of rain dropped from the sky and splashed into puddles and storm drains, or else landed on the crowds of people as they pushed their way home. Audrey was among that crowd, being shunted in all directions by sopping wet strangers. She was in no hurry, she liked the rain. It was a sign that spring was finally in the city. <em>April showers bring May flowers, <em>and all of that. She took her time, jumping in every puddle, splashing through every river of water that ran along the ditch into the drains. People stared at her as they passed. Audrey payed them no mind. _Let them stare, _she thought. She was alive, she was living out her dreams in New York, and she was loving life.

Audrey danced and twirled her way through the streets, all the way to the apartment that she shared with her twin brother, Kyle. It was a small, cramped, six story walk-up above a little Italian restaurant. The whole building smelled like tomato sauce. She absolutely adored it. Audrey drew her key out from her coat pocket and twisted it in the door handle. It took a little jimmying, but the door clicked open. She swung on the handle as the door opened with a loud creak. Oil. She needed to oil the hinges. The stairs leading away from the restaurant and up to the apartments were freshly cleaned, smelling strongly of lemons and bleach. The sharp scent burned at Audrey's nose as she climbed. The door to the apartment was open, and she heard music coming from within. Audrey smiled. Kyle had his guitar out.

"Well maybe there's a God above, but all I ever learned from love, was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya..." Kyle sang in his rich baritone voice. He had a voice as smooth as velvet, as rich as caramel. He could be famous, perform on a real stage for adoring fans, if he really wanted to. He was that good. But no, he preferred his small gigs, playing birthday parties, covering Elvis songs at the old folks home, and playing at the pub every Thursday night.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah..." Audrey chimed in, hitting the harmony in a clear soprano voice. She was often told she had a nice voice, too. She used it to her advantage, got herself a job as a singing waitress in a small cafe in the downtown area. She was a crappy waitress, and could barely make a minimum wage in tips, but when she sang... Those were always good nights for her.

"You're home early," Kyle commented, still strumming quietly. His hair was tousled, and Audrey knew that he had only just gotten out of bed. It was nearly 4 in the afternoon. Lucky for him, his income didn't depend on waking up at 5 in the morning.

"Boss sent me home. He said he'd rather pay me for the hours I didn't work than have me chase away any more of his customers," she answered honestly. "I see you just woke up."

"I couldn't sleep," he answered. Now, Audrey noticed the tired rings around his eyes. "I had strange dreams, and my head has just been killing me."

"Dreams?" Now Audrey was interested. "I've been having them too. What happens in yours?"

Kyle stopped his strumming and turned his head to Audrey. His eyes were lined with dark shadows. "There... hard to explain. In them, I'm standing alone, in the dark, but I'm not alone. I can hear people around me, asking me to help them. But I can't. I feel so powerful in this dream, like I have the ability to save them, but there's something holding me back."

Audrey's eyes widened. "That's almost exactly what happened in my dream. Only... did you see a child?"

"A child?"

Audrey nodded. "Yes. In my dream, there's a little boy, standing right in front of me. And he asks me.." Audrey was overwhelmed by a sense of sadness, of disappointment. "He asks me why I didn't do anything. Why I didn't save them... save him." She felt ashamed of herself, and she didn't know why. It was only a dream. And yet, every time she saw that little boy in her dreams, she was ashamed of what she hadn't done. Kyle was shaking his head.

"I've never seen a child. That's weird. We usually have the exact same dreams."

"But what could it possibly mean?" Audrey had never appreciated dreams. She had never liked the whole idea behind 'dreams being the subconscious minds way of sorting through the problems of the conscious mind'. She just wished her mind would tell her what it was thinking. Kyle was a little bit deeper, in the sense that he enjoyed his dreams. He wanted to make sense of them, to interpret them to improve his understanding of himself. He always had the answers. But right now, however, Kyle looked just as lost as she was.

"I have no idea," he admitted. "I don't particularly feel like I have the ability to change the fate of humanity. I'm just some guy with a guitar, singing his way from paycheck to paycheck, with a twin sister who can't even wait a table without sending someone running." Kyle thrust his face into his hands, sending his guitar tumbling onto the floor. Audrey could tell that he was tired, and frustrated, but it still stung a bit. She tried, hard, and he knew that. He must have sensed that she was upset by his comment, because moment later he lifted his head and looked at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I know." That was all she needed to say. The two of them sat there in silence. Moments passed, and neither one spoke, They communicated through that silence all of their affection and caring for each other. They had always been more than just siblings. They were best friends. They were the only family they had left. After about an hour, Audrey broke the silence.

'You're tired. We both are. Maybe we ought to just unwind a little. I got tips from singing this afternoon... we could go catch a movie. Just you and me. You in." She could tell that Kyle didn't even need to think about it. A night out is exactly what they both needed. He nodded, and Audrey smiled. "Great," she said. "I'll grab your coat."

Audrey leaped to her feet and skipped over to the coat hanger by the door as Kyle busied himself by picking his guitar up, wiping it down, and placing it lovingly back in its case. To them, it seemed like it would be just another normal night in the city, the two of them together. They had no way of knowing that tonight would be the night that everything changed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tami - Thanks for your review. However, the Audrey in my story is not Agent Hanson of the FBI. The fact that their names are the same was purely a coincidence. The name 'Audrey' was given to me by a friend who helped me with the story idea.<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2: Manifesting

By the time Kyle and Audrey had exited the theater and were walking back to the apartment, the rain had stopped. Water still dripped from the gutters and rooftops, but the sky was clear of any storm clouds. The stars were out; small, dim in the hazy smog of the city lights. Kyle and Audrey walked side by side, stepping in perfect time with one another. Kyle was laughing, the stress of the day forgotten in the moment with his sister.

"Come on, you have to admit the movie wasn't _that _good," Kyle teased. Audrey just shrugged, a small smile on her face. True, there was not a lot of plot, and the characters were lacking depth. She didn't care. Hugh was hot! And she knew that her brother had always had a thing for Scarlet.

"It wasn't the best," she conceded. "But then again, how would you know? You fell asleep halfway through the movie," she jabbed, and leaned into her brother. He laughed and pushed her over, laughing harder as she stumbled to regain her balance.

"Graceful,' he applauded, when she wobbled back to her feet."Really graceful." Audrey smiled at him sarcastically and brushed herself off. He was going to pay for that one. She reached out her hand to him, and when he took it, she swiftly pulled him off his feet and into a nearby puddle. He landed with a splash, soaking him through his over coat.

"You did not just do that," he laughed, wiping his muddy hair away from his face. Audrey laughed and skipped away from him as fast as she could. She heard him clamber back to his feet behind her. She laughed and started running half heartedly. "I'm gonna get you!" He called from behind her. She ignored him, turning into a dark alley to escape him. Then she stopped, dead in her tracks.

"You'll have to try harder than that!" he called, turning the corner. He stopped too. In front of them, barely a few feet away, stood a man. His hair was unkempt and dirty, and he was dressed shabbily. That wasn't what had stopped Audrey. It was the hungry look in his eyes, and the fact that his entire right arm, from finger to elbow, was literally in flames. They licked up and down his skin without burning him, seemingly coming out of his flesh. But that was impossible... wasn't it?

"I don't want to hurt you," his voice rasped. He sounded as if he were full of the same smoky flame that covered him, his voice crackling like the fire. "Give me all the money you have on you, and I'll let you walk away."

Audrey just stared at the flames in his hand. She was captivated, and terrified. It was impossible, she knew that, and yet this man was literally on fire. He wasn't normal. The man noticed her gaze, and it was almost as if he heard the thoughts behind it. "You think I'm a freak," he said without expression. "Well, I'm used to that sort of treatment by now. Go ahead, stare." The flame around his hand flared brighter. Audrey stepped back, bumping into her brother. She felt Kyle wrap his arm around her waist and pull her behind his body. The man on fire laughed a choking, malicious laugh.

"Did you hear what I said? Give me all your money!" his voice rose in volume. He was angry; Audrey could see it in the way the flames turned brighter, growing hotter.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. You don't want to-" Kyle started to reason with the man, his voice calm and reassuring, but Audrey could hear the urgency and fear behind his tone. The man obviously heard it to.

"Don't want to! Of course I don't want to! I didn't want this! I didn't want to be the freak on fire!" the man screamed. "But I don't have a choice anymore, do I?" With that he hurled a handful of fire toward Kyle.

"No!" Audrey shouted. Ripping herself out of Kyle's grasp, she pushed him over slightly as she dove in front of the flame that was intended for him. In hit her, directly below her left shoulder. She fell to the ground, pain searing through her with the burning of the fire. The man sneered, and his hand caught flame again. He raised his palm, and this time shot the fire in a steady stream towards Kyle.

The flames never reached Kyle, however. Audrey felt the heat as they passed over her, but inches away from Kyle, they suddenly fizzled out and disappeared. Kyle looked shocked, but behind it was a look of intense concentration. The man looked shocked too. He fired handful after handful of flames towards Kyle. Each time, the flames appeared to rebound off of some invisible force field and disappeared without a trace.

"How the hell-" the man on fire was incredulous. Slowly, a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "You're like me," he said in wonder as he stared at Kyle.

On the ground, Audrey felt her pain subsiding. The wound was still there, she could see it, but there was no feeling. No pain. The burning sensation was gone. Well, not gone, exactly. It was if she had absorbed the fire, like it had soaked its way in to her body and was no pulsing through her blood stream. She felt hot, a hotness running through her core and into her palm. She also felt power. She lifted her left hand, aiming her palm towards the man. As she concentrated on the heat within her, her palm suddenly burst with the same flames that the man had been throwing before.

Kyle and the man on fire stared, incredulous, as Audrey rose slowly to her feet. Her hand still burned with the man's fire. "Go away," she said, her voice quiet and threatening. "Leave my brother and me alone." The man looked frightened. He nodded, and turned quickly to scramble away from the scene. As he neared the end of the alleyway, he stopped and turned back to them.

"I thought I was the only one."

With that he turned and ran off into the night. Audrey looked back to her brother, and the flames in her hand faded and went out. Kyle stared at her, and she stared back, full of fear, and curiosity. "What the hell was that?" she wondered out loud. Kyle just shook his head. He reached out for her, but she noticed his hesitation. He was frightened, she knew that, but of her? Or of the situation they were in? His hesitation didn't last though, and he touched her burn gingerly. Now that the fire was gone, she felt the pain returning.

"Ow!" she said with surprise. Kyle nodded solemnly.

"Let's get home, clean you up." Audrey nodded, and with Kyle supporting her, they walked off towards the apartment. In the alley behind them, the last sparks of the man's fire died out.


	3. Chapter 3: Questions

It was dark in the apartment when they got back. Kyle wasted no time, in total silence he placed his sister on the couch and hurried into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Audrey sat herself up on the couch, leaning her back against the musty old pillows. Her mind was burning with a thousand questions. What had just happened? How was the man on fire? How was she on fire? And how come Kyle wasn't burned? Her thought were a tangled mess of flames and the dreams. The pain didn't make it any easier. Her skin burned like the fire had. The pain was a good thing, she remembered. The damage wouldn't be too permanent.

Kyle was back, his hands full of gauze and polysporin and medical tape. These he dumped onto the couch cushion beside Audrey before he unzipped her sweater and pulled it off. Thankfully, she would get to keep her undershirt. He may be her brother, and they may have shared an apartment, but Audrey still wasn't entirely comfortable with stripping in front of her twin, even if it was for medical reasons. The burn was an angry shade of red, swollen and inflamed. It ran from her collar bone to half way across her chest.

Kyle reached for the polysporin, and squirted copious amounts on to the burn. He worked silently, rubbing it gently in to the wound. Audrey was amazed at his composure. After what they had just witnessed, he was able to act like this was any ordinary burn, as if she had just poured boiling water over herself. She had been hit by a man with flaming hands, right before she had caught fire herself. Did her even care?

"So, can we talk about this?" Audrey asked her brother. He showed no signs of having heard her, though Audrey knew he was listening. She continued. "I mean, what just happened... that doesn't happen every day. Unless you've met other people who can light themselves on fire." Still nothing. Kyle used his teeth to rip open a package of gauze, which he started plastering to her chest. "Kyle, I just caught fire, literally. You were attacked by a human flame thrower, but he couldn't touch you. Aren't you freaking out, even a little bit?"

"Of course I'm freaking out!" He yelled. He couldn't feign composure any more. "I'm absolutely terrified! My sister can light herself on fire, and I have some kind of force field! I'm trying to hold it together here, for you, but this is not normal!" Kyle was breathing heavily after his sudden outburst. Audrey nodded, satisfied. Now that he had vented, they would be able to talk.

"I'm scared too," she said. Kyle snorted, and went back to his work. He taped the gauze across her chest, layering the tape in every direction. "It does make some sense, though. Our dreams, what happened tonight? And remember, when we were little? Mom said that she was special, that we would be too. Maybe this is what she meant."

"I doubt Mom meant this when she said special," Kyle was skeptical. "I doubt she meant that we were going to grow up to be freaks." He spat the last word. Audrey didn't understand his thought process. She didn't feel like much of a freak. It wasn't normal, that was true, but that didn't make it unnatural.

"Kyle, this is a gift. These abilities... we could use them to help people!" She reached out a hand to place it on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off. She persisted anyways. "We don't understand them now, but there has to be someone who knows what's happening to us. There has to be others. We could find them, work with them, learn to control it. We could save the world!"

"I don't want to save the world!" Kyle suddenly burst out. He jumped to his feet and spun to face Audrey, still lying on the couch. "I just want to be a normal guy. Do you have a problem with that?" Audrey shook her head. Kyle ran his hand through his dark hair, still caked with mud from earlier. "I'm taking a shower." he said, and he stormed off towards the bathroom.

Audrey stayed where she was, choking back her tears. Kyle wasn't one to hide what he was feeling. He really viewed himself, viewed her, as a freak. That stung a little. They were always accepting of each other: that was the one rule they had, the thing that brought them together as siblings. They helped each other through their problems, they didn't avoid them. Kyle had just broken the rule.

Audrey heard the phone ring. Once, twice, three times. Audrey let it. She wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone right now. The voice mail picked up.

"Hello?" It was a man's voice on the other end. He had an accent, one that Audrey thought sounded like an Indian one. "My name is Doctor Chandra Suresh. I'm a geneticist, and I'd like to talk with you about a project I've been working on. I've been doing research using the Human Genome Project, and in my research, the name Kyle and Audrey Whytmor came to my attention." Audrey remembered the Human Genome Project. She had given blood a few years ago, and she and Kyle had signed waiver forms permitting the use of their DNA. "My research concerns the manifestation of special... abilities in persons with a specific genetic code." Audrey sat up. Special abilities? "If you would like to contact me, I can be reached at..." Audrey scrambled for a piece of paper and a pen. She copied down the number in hurried handwriting. The Doctors voice on the machine thanked her for her time, and he hoped he would hear from them. The machine beeped, ending the message.

Audrey stared incredulously at the phone. This was it. Someone who knew about her and Kyle. Someone who could explain things to them, who understood what they could do. Someone with answers. She reached for the phone, prepared to call him back.

"Don't even think about it," Kyle voice came from the hall way. Audrey hadn't even noticed him standing there. He was wrapped in a towel, but he hadn't had his shower yet. Audrey guessed that he had been about to step in when the phone rang. "We're not looking in to this. We need to forget what happened and move on with our lives."

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" Audrey asked. "Don't you want to know what's happening? Don't you want to hear what this Doctor knows?" Kyle shook his head.

"Unless he knows how to make it go away, I don't want anything to with him. I don't want anything to do with this 'ability'" Kyle said 'ability' with such disdain that Audrey knew he was serious. Audrey looked at him defiantly.

"You don't own me. You don't control what I do. I want to know. I _need _to know. And this Doctor might have the answers I'm looking for." She reached for the phone again. Kyle lifted his hand in protest.

"Audrey, please," he sounded desperate. Audrey noted the change in his tone and stopped. His eyes were full of concern. "Whatever this is, it could be dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt. I couldn't stand to lose you." Kyle's voice broke with emotion. Audrey couldn't doubt his sincerity, and she was overcome by his affection. She nodded. Kyle looked relieved. "Thank you," he said, as he turned and headed towards the washroom. Audrey waited until she heard the door click shut, and heard the water running. Then she turned back to the phone and dialed quickly. She would be careful, and Kyle wouldn't need to know about it.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up on the other end. "Hello," Doctor Suresh said in his Indian accent.

"Hello, Doctor Suresh? My name is Audrey Whytmor. I'm returning the call you made earlier. You mention people with abilities... well; I think I'm one of them."


	4. Chapter 4: Answers

Audrey could barely contain her excitement as she stood outside of the address that Doctor Suresh had given her. Her hands were shaking as she knocked on the door, three light, quick taps in immediate succession. Her pulse was racing. Finally, she would have some answers. Kyle didn't know she was her. She'd taken the day off of work, but had asked her boss to tell Kyle that she was working if he called. When he had asked why, she told him that she had an appointment she didn't want anyone to know about. Her boss had nodded, then told her 'Congratulations'. He thought that she was pregnant and didn't want to tell anyone yet. Audrey didn't mind. She was too excited for this meeting.

The door opened a crack, restrained by a chain deadbolt. "Audrey Whytmor?" The Doctor's voice asked from within. Audrey nodded. The door closed again, and she heard the scrape of metal on metal as the deadbolt was unlocked. The door opened wide, and Audrey was able to see in to the small, cluttered apartment. Files were piled precariously on desks chairs, even stacks on the floor. There was a small table in the center of the room, set up with various data screens and electrodes. The Doctor himself stood before her. He was not a tall man, but he had the posture of someone important. His beard was trimmed and his eyes were smiling. Audrey liked him.

"Doctor Suresh, I'm Audrey." She introduced herself, extending her hand. He shook it warmly.

"Please, call me Chandra. It's a pleasure to meet you. Where is your brother, Kyle?" he asked. Audrey looked down guiltily. Chandra looked confused for only an instant. But a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "He doesn't know you are here."

"He didn't want me to come. He thinks that what's happening to me, to us, is too dangerous. He wants me to ignore it. But I can't ignore what I'm meant to be, can I?" Chandra nodded, understanding.

"Those are wise words coming from one so young. You made the right choice by coming here." Chandra gestured towards the two chairs set up along the small kitchen island. Audrey sat, and Chandra busied himself making tea. He placed a steaming mug in front of Audrey before sitting opposite her with his own mug of tea.

"So, can you explain what's happening to me?" Audrey asked. This was what she had come for, after all. Her heart skipped a beat or two when Chandra nodded.

"Yes, I believe I can. My research, you see, has always been concerning the evolution of the human species. I theorized that, given the right conditions and genetic markers, humans would develop extraordinary abilities, gifts far beyond the norm. Spontaneous regeneration, telekinesis, human flight... the possibilities are endless\! My research led me here, to America. I've been tracking down individuals that I suspect may have these abilities. So far, only one has returned my calls, but he shows incredible promise."

Audrey was filled with excitement. "So, there are others? People who do what I can do?"

Chandra smiled. "Well, that depends. What do you do?"

"Well, I've only done it once. A few days ago, my brother and I were attacked by a man in an alley," Audrey spoke quickly. She didn't want to waste another moment. She wanted answers. "He had an ability; he was able to light himself on fire." Chandra's eyes lit up at that. She could almost see the wheels in his head turning, factoring pyrokinesis in to his research. "I don't understand how it happened, but suddenly I could do what he did. I was on fire." Audrey finished. Chandra was staring at her now with great interest.

"Do you-" he sounded hesitant now. He seemed not to want to offend her, yet barely able to contain his excitement. "Do you think you could do it again? Show me?"

Audrey shrugged. "Like I said, I only did it once. But I can try." Chandra nodded excitedly.

"Please do."

Audrey reached out her left hand. She'd always been left handed, so it felt right to her. Closing her eyes, Audrey focused on the fire within her. She remembered how it had felt, the slow, deep burn running through her blood, rushing to her hand until it had been overwhelmed with the heat and had burst into flames. She remembered the man on fire, the look in his eyes as he burned. She heard Chandra gasp, and she flicked her eyes open. It had worked. Her palm was filled with bright, dancing flames. Concentrating hard, she made the flames grow and shrink, flare brighter and dim down again. Chandra clapped excitedly, and with a gasp, the flames were extinguished.

"Wonderful! Absolutely marvelous!" Chandra exclaimed. He reached over the island to grab a small journal, which he began scribbling in frantically. Audrey smiled. She felt tired, as she had yesterday, but she was content. She had done it. She was special. And now, someone knew and understood her.

"It's incredible! You aren't burned at all!" Chandra was amazed as he inspected her hand. He examined it from all directions before he looked up at her, curiosity burning in his eyes. "How does it feel? What do you think of when you... light up?"

"It's sort of like... the fire is within me," Audrey struggled to explain. "I sort of focus on the heat within me and draw it out. It feels, wonderful, but it doesn't necessarily feel like me. It's like its someone else's power, and I'm just using it." That was the closest she could come to describing it verbally. Chandra wrote down every word she said, word for word.

"It's incredible," he said, looking up from his notebook to stare at her with fascination. "I'd love to run a few tests, if you don't mind." Audrey glanced down at her watch, concerned. Kyle would be expecting her at home soon. Chandra noticed this. "Not today, of course. I have another appointment this afternoon. But later this week, perhaps?" Audrey nodded, and Chandra looked pleased.

"Thank you, so much," Audrey was filled with gratitude as Chandra showed her towards the door. She could understand now, she knew what was happening. And she could handle it, with the Doctor's help.

"No, thank you. I look forward to seeing you again." Chandra said. With a parting wave, he shut the door behind her. Audrey was beaming as she made her way down the stairs of the apartment building. She greeted everyone she passed with a smile. Some gave her odd looks, but Audrey was on Cloud Nine. She was special.

Outside of the apartment, Audrey collided with a man as he made his way into the building. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized as he brushed himself off.

"No, that was my fault. I should've been paying more attention to where I was going," he said in a gentle voice. He looked up at her face. He was handsome, Audrey noted, with dark hair combed back from his forehead, and large brown eyes highlighted by thick brows. As he stood she placed his thick rimmed glasses back on his nose. He was tall, she observed, and well built.

"My name's Audrey," she felt compelled to introduce herself to such a handsome stranger.

"Sylar," he answered. "Gabriel Sylar." He extended his hand and she shook it. "Do you live here?" he asked, indicating the building that she had just exited, the one he had been walking towards.

"No, actually. I had an appointment with someone who lives here." she explained. He studied her carefully. His look was intense, as if he were trying to see in to her mind. _If only he knew how special I really was, _she thought. _Then he'd definitely be interested. ___

"I have an appointment as well," he said. Audrey frowned. What a shame. She would have loved to talk with him some more. He seemed to echo her emotions, because moments later he said, "Perhaps we could have coffee sometime, when we both aren't so busy." Audrey smiled.

"I'd like that." She wrote down her number on a piece of paper and handed to him. He folded it carefully and placed it in his breast pocket. Gabriel smiled warmly at her, and Audrey felt him staring after her as she walked away. She felt his gaze all the way down the street, until she turned the corner.

Minutes later, Gabriel Sylar knocked on the door of Chandra Suresh's apartment. "Come in, Gabriel!" the Doctor cried from behind the door. With a small flick of his hand, Gabriel turned the door handle and pushed the door open. He entered to find Doctor Suresh still sitting at the kitchen island, still writing frantically in his notebook.

"Gabriel, I've found another one," Chandra explained excitedly without glancing up from her notebook. "You just missed her. She had the most wonderful ability to create fire, out of thin air!" He looked up at his Patient Zero. "You really have to meet her; it would be a fascinating study. Her name is Audrey." Chandra turned his head back to his notebook.

"Audrey..." Gabriel said, thinking of the pretty young woman from the street. "I believe I've already met her..."

"Well, I would love to document a meeting between the two of you. I've yet to study two of your kind in interaction with one another. The possibilities are endless! It would be most fascinating."

Gabriel pondered that. He remembered the strange attraction he had felt to the woman, to Audrey. His desire to meet with her again, to talk with her. To hear all of the delicious secrets within her pretty little head. "You're right, Doctor," he said. "It would be fascinating."


	5. Chapter 5: The Worst Day Ever

May, 2006**  
><strong>New York City, New York****

Audrey stormed home in silence. Along the way, she collided with countless people as they bustled in the opposite direction. She had earned several fingers, and a lot of swearing under people's breaths. She didn't even notice. She was seething in anger, and trying desperately to control the fire within her.

Her bad, awful, no-good day had begun the moment she had woken up. First, the hot water had been shut off for her entire building. Her shower was cold, her coffee was cold, and her clothes, having just come out of the wash, weren't all to warm either. While walking to work that morning, a bike messenger had clipped her as she passed, knocking her to the sidewalk and tearing a hole in the knee of her favorite jeans. She was in a bad mood when she finally got to work, and she was short with her customers. None of them tipped her. Eventually, one of her customers asked her why she was taking her anger out on him. She lost control, and the candle at the table flared up to set fire to his beard.

"Audrey, what's with you," her boss had exclaimed, after giving the man his meal on the house. "You've never been the best at your job, but this is out of the ordinary, even for you!" Audrey had just shrugged. It was more than just the events of the day that were annoying her. Her dreams the night before had been plagued by nightmares, of flames and destruction. She knew that something bad was coming, soon. And she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Perhaps you should go home," her boss suggested. His voice was gentle, and he looked at her with understanding. "I'm sure your hormones are very unbalanced right now, with the baby and all."

"I'm not pregnant, you old sot!" Audrey snapped. "I lied because I didn't want to spend another day working at this shit hole with you!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She'd tried to apologize, but her boss wouldn't hear of it. She was fired. End of story.

So now she walked home to her apartment, desperately thinking of what she would tell her brother. He depended on her so much for income, and now she would have to spend the next few weeks searching for a new place to work. That is, if any one would hire her.

Even with everything awful that had happened that day, Audrey still knew that the worst was yet to come. The horrible feeling that her entire world was about to come crashing down around her wouldn't go away. She climbed up the stairs to the apartment, nearly quaking in her uneasiness. She stopped at the top floor landing. The door was ajar. She listened, but she couldn't hear the sounds of Kyle's guitar. He only ever left the door open when he was playing, so that the sound might be enjoyed by the diners in the restaurant. But today, it was silent.

Audrey crept forward. The sense of foreboding in her was growing with every step towards the door. She was barely a foot away when she heard a sudden crash from inside. She heard a man grunt in pain, and someone else laughed. The laugh scared her. It didn't sound human. Suddenly, the air was rent with a blood curdling shriek. Audrey's heart sped. It was Kyle. She leaped forwards the last foot, into the apartment. The scene she met terrified her.

Kyle was suspended against the far wall, his limbs splayed. There was nothing holding him there, though. It was as if he were floating in mid-air. Blood trickled down his forehead from a gash that was being opened along his skull. In front of Kyle, with his back to Audrey, a tall man stood. He held one hand up in front of him, the other was pointing at Kyle's forehead as it traced a line across it. Kyle's head split open to match the movement of the man's finger.

"No!" Audrey screamed. The man turned, and Kyle crumpled to the floor. Audrey jumped, and her heart fell. It was the man from outside Doctor Suresh's apartment. Gabriel. He looked at her now with the same calculating look, only now it was touched with madness.

"Audrey!" Gabriel's voice was full of feigned surprise. "How lovely of you to join us. I'm a little occupied at the moment, so if you'll just wait your turn..." he flicked his hand, and suddenly she found herself slammed up against the wall. Gabriel chuckled and turned back to Kyle. "Now, where were we?" he said, and he lifted his hand, presumably to lift Kyle into the air again. Nothing happened.

Kyle stood, his face intense with concentration as he battled Gabriel`s abilities with his own. Gabriel looked frustrated for a moment, but unexpectedly, he threw his head back and laughed. "Marvelous! How wonderful it will be, to be able to resist the abilities of others. Of course, I`ll have to retrieve your power in a more traditional manner," he mused as he reached into his pocket, drawing out a knife with a long, serrated blade.

"Gabriel, why are you doing this?" Audrey cried from the wall. He turned to look at her, but she hardly recognized the handsome man she had met. He was someone entirely different now. A monster.

"My name is Sylar," he said. He turned back to Kyle, who was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Using his ability was taking its toll on him. It was almost ironic. Kyle had said using their abilities would be dangerous. And yet, here he was, in a dangerous situation, and because he had not exercised his ability, he wasn`t strong enough to defend himself with it. Gabriel, or Sylar, raised the long bladed knife as he advanced towards Kyle.

"No!" Audrey cried again. She was just able to shift her hand, and Sylar`s weapon flew out of his hands and across the room. She stared at her hand in amazement. Since when could she do that? Sylar had turned back to her as well. His gaze was incredulous.

"Well, well," he said. He looked at her like a frog he was dissecting. "How interesting." Sylar shifted his hand, and Audrey felt herself floating through the air towards him. She struggled, leaning back as far as she could, but soon she could make out every detail of his warped, handsome face. He studied her carefully. "So it`s not just pyrokinesis, is it?" Sylar clearly saw the confusion in her eyes, and he smiled. "You see, my ability, my original ability, is that I can see how things work. Like your mind, Audrey. You`re ability is that you can absorb anything, anything that makes you stronger."

He twisted his hand and suddenly she had flown backwards several feet. He raised his other hand, curving three fingers back to point at her head. "Yours will certainly make an interesting addition to my host of abilities," he explained. Audrey wanted to cry out, to scream, but she knew that would only give him satisfaction. She glanced around the room, searching desperately for anything that might distract her from what was to come. Her eyes found Kyle. He was kneeling now, but his head was lifted to her. As she watched, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter, the one he used for his cigarettes. With an expert hand, he flicked it on, and a small flame danced. He looked at her meaningfully_. Do it.___

Audrey focused everything she had on that one, tiny flame. She felt a small pain as Sylar made the first impression on her head, but it was faint. She wasn`t in her own body anymore, not really, She was one with the flame. She thought of it growing, catching on the curtains, spreading up the walls and across the floor. She fed those flames on her fear, her love for her brother, her despise for Sylar and all that he stood for. She opened her eyes.

Flames leaped from the walls. She aimed them towards Sylar, who suddenly cried out and curled in to a ball as the flames licked his skin. Audrey fell from the air, landing on her feet. She called the flames to Sylar, encircling him in a raging wall of fire. She looked at him through the flames. His eyes burned with hatred, but behind it was fear. Fear of the fire, fear of her. Audrey turned away from him. She needed to find Kyle.

The ceiling creaked, and suddenly, large chunks of plaster gave way to the heat. Clouds of dust rose around Audrey; this combined with the smoke caused her to cough uncontrollably. She heard someone else coughing, though she couldn`t see them through the dust cloud. "Kyle!" she cried out.

"Here," came the choked reply. Audrey stumbled towards the noise. She stumbled and fell over something at her feet. It was Kyle. He was barely conscious, she could tell, but as she grasped his hand, his fingers squeezed hers gently. She hauled him up to his feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She half-carried, half dragged him towards the door, a dim spot of artificial light in the dusty, yellow gloom of the burning apartment. Luckily, the fire hadn`t reached the stairwell, and Audrey was able to pull Kyle down the stairs.

Outside, emergency vehicles had already gathered. As Audrey and Kyle stumbled out, two firefighters in bright yellow uniforms ran forward and grabbed them. They each took one and carried the pair, running, to the waiting ambulance.

"I`m fine," Audrey complained. "Look after Kyle, help Kyle." The paramedics paid her no heed, and persisted to check her out anyway. Finally, one of them determined she was fine. Not a scratch on her. They were amazed that she didn`t even show signs of smoke inhalation. Audrey saw them load Kyle`s unconscious body on to a stretcher. They strapped an oxygen mask to his face before they loaded him in to the back of the ambulance. "Can I ride with him?" she asked. The paramedic nodded, and Audrey clambered in to the back to the vehicle. She glanced out the back as the building she had once called home slowly fell in flaming pieces.

Audrey glanced towards the crowd who had gathered to watch the fire. They pressed up against each other, raising cell phones as they tried to capture an image or video of the burning building. Towards the back of the throng, however, one man wasn`t looking at the fire. He was staring at her. As Audrey stared at him, she realized with a jolt that it was Sylar. He smiled knowingly at her, then raised a hand with three fingers curled back, pointing directly at her. _I`ll be seeing you again soon, Audrey. _Then the doors slammed shut.


	6. Chapter 6: Gone

In the dream, Audrey was flying.

_She was standing on an unfamiliar balcony, somewhere in New York City. She didn't know where she was, but it felt like home. The air was warm, and the sun was setting behind the skyscrapers on the horizon. The pinkish light of the sunset washed over her skin.___

_"It's beautiful, isn't it?"___

_Audrey turned. The voice had come from inside the small apartment. He stepped out in to the dim sunlight. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a short sleeved shirt. His eyes were huge, dark and prominent on his face, though nearly covered by thick bangs of dark hair that flopped over his forehead. He was perfect.___

_"Do I know you?" Audrey asked. He shook his head.___

_"No. Not yet." He smiled as though he had made a joke. His smile was crooked, a lopsided grin. It was adorable. Audrey sighed.___

_"Then I'm dreaming. And all this is going to disappear soon, isn't it," she said, gesturing to the perfect scene before then. He nodded. Audrey sighed again. "You're going to disappear too, aren't you?" It was strange. Audrey didn't even know his name, but she knew she would miss him when he was gone. Again, he nodded.___

_"But you'll see me again. I promise you that," he said. He stepped forward to take her in his arms. Again, though it should have felt strange to be this close to a stranger, it wasn't. It felt right. Audrey took great comfort in his arms.___

_Suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath their feet. His arms were still enclosed tightly around her. She pulled back slightly to look at him. He smiled at her, a smile full of joy. Audrey looked down, looked around. They were flying, floating above the city. "Are you doing this?" she asked him in wonder. He smiled.___

_"We both are," he said. He unwrapped her from his arms, keeping hold of her hand. They floated there for a moment, feeling the warmth of the setting sun in the air around them. "Come on," he said. "We may be dreaming, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it while it lasts!"___

_He took off, speeding through the air impossibly fast. Not to be outdone, Audrey took off after him. Flying felt natural to her, like a second nature. Together, hand in hand, they sped through the darkening sky, soaring over the tallest skyscrapers. Audrey laughed with exhilaration_.

Audrey woke up in the dim light of the hospital room. She was sitting in the window, her face pressed up against the cool glass. Across from her, Kyle lay in his bed. The machines that were hooked up to him beeped erratically. Audrey could make no sense of them. Kyle shifted in his bed, and his head turned to look at her. Audrey gasped. One side of his handsome face was covered in burns. Her fault. All her fault. Tears leaked from her eyes.

"It's not your fault," he whispered. Audrey stood and crossed the room to his bed. She gingerly set herself on the bed beside him and picked up his hand. She didn't believe him. She had set that fire. He had been right all along. These abilities were dangerous. And now he was dying.

"You're wrong, you know," Kyle said, with a little more clarity. "I was wrong to ignore our powers. You were right, they do make us special. I was an idiot." He broke off in a fit of coughing. "I won't deny that I'm dying, though."

"Don't talk like that."

Kyle shook his head. "It's not your fault, Audrey. But you can't do anything to stop it. I'm dying, and now you need to be the strong one. I know you can do it." Audrey felt herself nod, but tears were running down her face. She could be strong, if she had to be. For him. Kyle looked satisfied.

"Good." A sudden look of inspiration dawned on his face. "Sylar said that you absorb abilities and other things that make you stronger, right?" Again, Audrey nodded. "Take my ability. That way, you'll always be safe from others like us. From other Sylars." Audrey was shaking her head now.

"I couldn't Kyle, I don't-"

"Hell, Audrey! This is my dying wish! Respect it, please," he sounded exasperated, and he collapsed in to another fit of coughing. Audrey found herself nodding again. She closed her eyes. Kyle did too. Audrey focused on her brother, She thought of what he meant to her, her protector, her family, her friend. This was more personal than when she had absorbed the man on fire and Sylar's gifts. She actually felt the transfer of power, like a steady stream of heat making its way through their conjoined hands in to her body. She opened her eyes. Kyle looked tired, weaker than he had moments before. He'd been holding on all this time, just to make sure she would be okay.

"I love you, Kyle. And I swear, I'm gonna fight like hell to survive. I'll do it for both of us now."

Kyle smiled, and his eyes slowly fluttered closed. The beeping of his machines slowed. It was gradual, and time seemed to stretch on for hours. Eventually, the _beep beep beep _of the heart monitor faded into one continuous tone. Kyle's fingers slipped through Audrey's. She felt a piece of herself die and leak out of her in the form of her silent tears. They dripped down her nose, splashing on to Kyle's skin as it grew cold and gray against hers.

A team of doctors and nurses swarmed in to the room. One of them pushed a crash cart. They halted as they took in the scene; Kyle's rigid corpse, Audrey's tears, and the expression on her face as she shook her head no. Kyle was gone. And a part of Audrey was gone with him.


	7. Chapter 7: Stronger Alone

The day was miserable, a cold and dismal gray. They sky was overcast, though without a sign of rain, and the breeze was cool. It seemed an appropriate day for Kyle's funeral. For hours, Audrey had stood, without expressions, and friends and distant relatives file past the casket to pay their last respects.

"Sorry for your loss," they all had murmured to her, taking her hands as they past. Not one of them meant it, Audrey knew. 'Sorry' was just something for them to say, there was no meaning behind it. None of them had known Kyle the way she had. None of them would miss him like she would. Graciously, however, she had accepted their empty condo lances with a nod of her head. The service itself had been acceptable, nothing elaborate, but it was the best she could afford. Several of Kyle's buddies from the pub had played a final tribute to him as the lowered the coffin in to the ground.

The official story was that the restaurant had a gas leak. Kyle had lit up for a cigarette and sent the place up in flames. Only three people knew what had really happened in that apartment. One of them was dead. Audrey refused to tell the police about Sylar, for their own protection. Even if they did believe her, what use were guns against a man who could throw bodies across a room with just a thought?

Now, Audrey took the elevator up 7 stories to her 2nd cousin's apartment in New York. Her old apartment, the one she and Kyle had shared, was destroyed. Along with most of her possessions, and all her memories of Kyle. Thankfully, he had forgotten his guitar at the pub the night before. It was the only piece of him that remained. Audrey had nearly cried when his friends presented her with it at his funeral earlier that day. She carried it with her now, taking it with her to her new apartment, her new life.

The door wasn't locked when Audrey made it to the apartment. Sharon always forgot to lock the door when she went out. Audrey sighed as she twisted and pushed the handle open. She was met with unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells. Sharon's cat, Oreo, pranced over to her and began winding his way around her legs. Audrey reached down to stroke him absent-mindedly. She had always wanted a cat, but Kyle was allergic. As she glanced around the unfamiliar apartment, Audrey saw her phone lying on the kitchen table. The screen flashed, indicating she had a missed call.

'Audrey, this is Doctor Suresh. I must speak with you, I swear, I had no idea-" Audrey pressed the button to delete the Doctor's message. She glanced at her screen. She had 17 missed calls, all of them from the good Doctor.

"I've been leaving you messages all week." Audrey turned, startled. Chandra stepped in to view. "Your cousin, Sharon, let me in after I explained I was your doctor. She seemed very concerned about you."

"I'm fine," Audrey snapped. "And you aren't my doctor. Not anymore."

"Audrey, you have every right to be angry with me-"

"Good! Because I am angry!" Audrey vented all her pent up frustration, her anger at Kyle's death, out on the Doctor. "Nobody knew what Kyle and I were. No one! Until I visited you! Next thing I know, your little freak show experiment, Sylar, is trying to kill us both for our abilities! And now Kyle is dead!" she screamed. Chandra waited calmly as she screamed, and nodded solemnly. He looked devastated.

"It's true. I did not recognize Mr. Sylar for what he was. I had no idea that he was killing other people to gain their abilities. I put you and your brother at risk, and I'm sorry." Audrey turned away from him. His apology meant as much to her as the ones she had heard earlier that day at Kyle's funeral. "But Audrey, don't you see? You are in more danger from your abilities now than ever before! If you and I worked together, we could figure out a way to stop Sylar, and protect others`-

Audrey cut him off. ``I learned something from Sylar, Doctor. About my abilities. It`s not just the fire, you know?" Chandra looked at her, confused. This was not something they had come across during their sessions. ``I was able to use Sylar`s ability against him. He told me what my real gift was." Audrey laughed without humor. ``I can adapt in any way to make myself stronger. I absorb the abilities of others, knowledge, immunizations, physical and mental traits... I understand know how to adapt to situations. Siding with you, us working together, won`t make me stronger. Right now, I`ll be at my best if I`m alone. If I start over."

Chandra looked at her, a face of disappointment and disapproval, but he nodded. Audrey wasn`t done with him though. ``If I`m going to survive out there, though, I need to know what you know. I need to be strong, and knowledge is power." Audrey advanced on the Doctor, and she saw fear light his eyes. She took no notice of it, placing her hands on either side of his head. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Suddenly her mind was filled with the thoughts and experiences of Chandra Suresh. His past, his present, all his memories passing her by. She sifted through them, pausing only to absorb the ones relevant to her. She took all his memories of his work with `specials`, as he referred to them. Experiments in India, a place called Coyote Sands... every memory he had of his sessions with her and with Sylar. She copied them all carefully, and stored them in her own mind. As she retreated from his mind and lowered her hands, Chandra slumped on to the sofa, unconscious.

``I`m sorry, Chandra. But it`s better this way, for both of us," she said. Audrey took one last look around the apartment. This was the last time she would ever set foot in it. She didn`t pack anything to take with her. She didn`t have much to take, and she wanted to start completely fresh. All she had were the clothes she was wearing and her brother`s guitar. She would take out all of their savings from the bank, and buy a train ticket to anywhere. Anywhere in the States. Anywhere but New York, where her memories of Kyle were strongest.

Audrey reached out with her hand, and the door to the apartment flew open. If she was starting this new life, she would do it without any reservations. This was who she was. As she left the apartment, Oreo leaped onto the sofa. He clambered up on to the arm rest to lick the sleeping face of Doctor Suresh.

When he awoke hours later, he would have no memory of the encounter. Sharon would find him, dazed and confused, and together they would begin the search for Audrey. They filed a Missing Person`s report, but after several months, the police stopped looking. It was as if she had completely disappeared off the face of the Earth. As if Audrey Whytmor had never existed at all.


	8. Chapter 8: New Beginning

November, 2008**  
><strong>Midland, Texas****

Autumn had finally come to Texas, as Audrey noted while walking to work that morning. She buttoned her overcoat up to its collar. The air was chill, not enough for it to be uncomfortable, but cool all the same. It was early, the sun had barely risen, but it seemed everyone who lived in this small town was an early riser.

For the first 6 months after Kyle's funeral, Audrey had traveled from town to town, all over the Continental US. She was searching for somewhere, anywhere, to belong. As time wore on, it seemed to her that she was forever destined to work as a waitress. Her first job had been at a small diner in Kansas. They had fired her after a month. She traveled from place to place, sometimes finding work, sometimes living in train stations. There were good months when she had a roof over her head, and plenty to eat. Then there were times she starved for days before giving up and moving on. Every place that hired her had regretted it. She really was a terrible waitress.

Despite her lack of glowing recommendations, she had been hired here, at the Burnt Toast Diner in Midland. They must really have been desperate, Audrey thought. Her predecessor had been killed, or had disappeared, a few weeks before Audrey had arrived in town. Her name had been Charlie. They still had a small shrine set up for her in the back of the restaurant, two years later.

The bells on the door jingled welcomingly as Audrey sidled in to the restaurant. "Audrey, your cutting it close today!" Annette called from the back kitchen. Audrey just shrugged. When she had first come into town, Annette had taken her under her wing, giving her a place to stay; setting her up with a job in the restaurant... she was Audrey's only friend. Audrey slipped her overcoat off and hung it by the door. Hopefully, she would remember it there later. Already, the regular restaurant patrons were crowded around their usual tables.

"Hey Audrey, how you feeling today?" called the Sheriff from his seat by the window. Audrey waved at him and smiled warmly. Even though she had a short temper, and a poor memory, the people here adored her. They always went out of their way to make her feel comfortable, and helped her out when she screwed up their orders. Annette said it was because they didn't get a lot of new people in town, they were just being as helpful and welcoming as they could. Audrey suspected that it had something to do with Charlie, too. They all felt bad, for not letting Charlie know how much she was appreciated before she died, and so now they were trying to reconcile themselves with her replacement. Audrey could sympathize with that.

Audrey grabbed the fresh coffee pot and made her way over to the Sheriff's booth. "Can I top you off, Sheriff?" she asked in her best Southern drawl. He chuckled and nodded.

"You're getting better at that, you know," he commended her accent. Audrey smiled.

"You think so? I practice in front of my mirror every night." That forced a full laugh out of him. The Sheriff reached for her hand and held it between both of hers.

"You're something else, Miss Audrey. You know that?" Audrey smile faltered. Oh, she knew, all right. She was different. She was dangerous. She could kill everyone in this room with just a thought; she could endanger all of their lives if she lost control. "Sweetheart, you all right?" Sheriffs' voice broke her dismal reverie. Audrey shook herself mentally and smiled.

"Fine. Just tired. Call me over when you're ready to order, 'kay?" Sheriff nodded, but he still looked concerned. Audrey hoisted up her coffee pot and headed back towards the counter. The bells jingled, and a lone man walked in. He sat himself in the far corner, as far away from the other customers as he possibly could. Audrey didn't recognize him, so he wasn't a regular. Just someone passing through.

"Howdy, sir. Can I get you a cuppa coffee?" she asked, doing her best to sound chipper. The man nodded, unsmiling, and pushed his cup towards her. She poured with an expert hand, a steady stream of black coffee. As she poured, she felt his eyes on her, studying every inch of her. It was unsettling, as if he were undressing her with her eyes. She stepped back subconsciously. His eyes were on her name tag.

"Audrey. What a nice name," he said, and Audrey smiled and nodded awkwardly. She half turned; ready to begin her hastened retreat from the table, but the man lifted a hand to stop her. "I heard of an Audrey once. Audrey Whytmor. She lived in New York, went missing about two years ago." He glanced at her face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open in shock, like a deer in the headlights. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, now, would you." Audrey gulped.

"No, sir, I don't believe I do."

He sighed and turned back to his coffee, giving it a stir. "A shame. She had the most amazing gift... an incredible ability, really. She was special. You are special, aren't you, Audrey? Just like I'm special." Audrey stepped back, and her heart quickened. He knew. Sweat broke out on the back of her neck, and she felt fear, more than she had ever felt before. "You're afraid of me, aren't you, Audrey? Well... you should be." Audrey turned and ran, full speed, for the back of the restaurant. Behind her, the man calmly sipped at his coffee.


	9. Chapter 9: Taken

Audrey ran, faster than she ever had before. "Audrey, where the hell are you going?" Annette asked in surprise as Audrey blew through the kitchen, nearly running her over. Audrey didn't reply. She was too cared to articulate. The EXIT door was open, and Audrey was able to slip through the gap between the door and the wall without slowing her pace down too much.

The sun had risen a little higher in the sky, high enough that its rays warmed her as she sped down the street. For this she was grateful, her warmest coat was still hanging up in the front of the restaurant. Who was that man? How did he know about her? For years now, Audrey thought she had been so careful. She had never used her real last name, paid for everything in cash, tried to erase any tracks she may have left behind. Her goal had been to become invisible, at least until people stopped looking for her. And yet somehow, that man had found her.

Audrey didn't look where she was going, and as she turned the corner she collided with a man carrying his groceries. She recognized him from the restaurant. "What the- Are you okay?" he began his exclaim in protest, but his mood switched suddenly when he saw he sprawled on the ground and gasping for air. Audrey shook her head.

"There was a man... I think he's following me..." she managed to say between gulps of air. The man with the groceries helped her to her feet. His expression was ablaze with concern.

"Did you get a good look at his face?"

Audrey nodded. "He was tall, African-American, with short, curly hair." Her breathing had slowed. back to its normal speed. The man reached in to his pocket and withdrew his cell phone. "Are you calling the police?"

"Of course," the man said, but Audrey was already shaking her head as she backed away.

"No. No you can't call them! He knows me, he knows what I do! He's too dangerous!"

"What are you-"

"No!" Audrey screamed, cutting him off. She turned and began running again. "Tell them not to come!" she called back over her shoulder. She didn't look to see if the man had complied. The ground was flying from beneath her feet again. Her small loft, above Annette's garage, was just ahead. She could see it. But she was so tired... her steps slowed slightly.

A woman with short hair bleached blond walked out from a side street, directly in front of Audrey. She skidded to a halt, and then angled her body to run around the woman. She side stepped with her. She went the other way and so did the woman. Audrey stepped back as the woman advanced a step. She was still about 50 feet away. Audrey glanced back behind her. The man from the diner was there, standing 10 feet away. Audrey glanced left and right. There were no escapes. She was being herded.

"Sorry 'bout this," chimed a voice from behind her. Audrey spun, and the woman with the blond hair was inches from her face. How had she traveled so far in the span of a few seconds? Audrey thought. The woman's hand delved into her pocket and she pulled out a small syringe. Audrey felt a piercing sensation in her neck, and then she felt nothing at all.


	10. Chapter 10: Pinehearst

December, 2008**  
><strong>Pinehearst Company**  
><strong>Fort Lee, New Jersey****

Audrey didn't know how long she had been lying on the hospital-like bed. It could have been days, weeks, months. They had her on a steady drip of sedatives, and the details were a little fuzzy. They grew clearer though, as time wore on. Audrey guessed that was her ability. Slowly, her body was building up an immunity to the drugs that held her immobile. Eventually, she would be free. And when she was, she would kill the bastards who had taken her in the first place.

Every so often, she would be graced by the company of doctors, and other employees. She always feigned total paralysis when they came in. Once, she was visited by the man and the woman who had taken her. She found it so hard to lie still then, when all she wanted to do was leap up from that bed and strangle them both. But she held, and she managed to hear snippets of conversation here and there.

"- wants me to recruit Matt Parkman-"

"-giving powers to non-specials, he must think we're crazy-"

"-Mohinder Suresh, he's becoming a problem-"

Mohinder Suresh? Audrey knew that name. During one of her house visits with Chandra, she had noticed a photograph on his desk, of him and a young man. The young man in the picture had clearly just graduated, and they were both smiling. "Is that your son?" Audrey had asked. Chandra had nodded.

"Yes. Mohinder. He's a geneticist, like me, back in India." Chandra had looked wistfully at the photograph, but after a moment he turned it a way and continued taking Audrey's blood sample. She gathered that Chandra and Mohinder didn't have the best relationship. Still, if Mohinder was now in the States, perhaps he and his father were reconciled. And they were making hell for her kidnappers. The thought would have made Audrey smile, if she had control over the muscles in her face.

Today, things were different. When Audrey drifted out of her uneasy sleep, she observed that the IV into her arm had been removed. The bag of sedatives was hooked up in the far corner of the room. She slowly felt feeling returning to her body. It felt wonderful. Audrey thought about wiggling her toes. They wiggled. She thought about sitting up. Her feet swung around the side of the bed, and she was sitting. She laughed. Now she would get payback.

The door to her cell opened. Audrey frowned. It wasn't her abductors. This man was tall, and definitely Italian. She was dressed in a crisp, black suit and tie. His salt and pepper hair was short, and his face was lined with age. He looked grim. He looked like a man who rarely smiled. And that scared Audrey. He may not be the one who had snatched her, drugged her, but he was clearly involved in this operation. He would have to do. Audrey reached out her hand and focused on the energy within her, thinking of throwing the man through the door again. Nothing happened.

"Oh, your powers won't have returned to you yet," he said. His voice was oily and slick. He sounded like the lawyers that used to come in to Audrey's cafe in New York. Audrey hated lawyers. "Those were some pretty strong sedatives we gave you, and neural inhibitors. It's incredible that you're able to sit up right now."

Audrey glared at him. He stared back and chuckled. It was a humorless chuckle; she suspected he was trying to make her feel more comfortable. It wasn't working. "My name is Arthur Petrelli. I had you brought here, because you are someone very special, Audrey. I think you know what I mean." Audrey shook her head stubbornly. "Oh, yes, you do, Audrey. You're gifted. Like me. Like all of us her at Pinehearst." Arthur extended a hand towards her, and blue sparks danced across his palm.

"Audrey, your particular ability is rather unique. The ability to absorb anything, any ability, any knowledge, that makes you stronger... well that's a lot of power for one person to control. I would know. It's not dissimilar to my own ability. You are a remarkable specimen, Audrey."

"Will you cut the crap?" Audrey demanded. She really didn't have the patience for lawyers. "What the hell do you want with me?"

Arthur wasn't offended by her rudeness, on the contrary. He seemed almost entertained by it. "I've been gathering people with abilities, Audrey, people like you. People who share my vision for a better future, one where we don't need to hide what we are." The speech he was giving sounded impressive, but well rehearsed. It sounded fake to Audrey. "We would like you to join us, Audrey. Join us in this better future."

Audrey looked at him. For a moment, she wasn't sure if she should spit in his face or laugh. In the end, she was laughing hysterically. "Boy, do you have problems!" she screamed with mirth. Arthur Petrelli frowned. Clearly, this was not the reaction he was used to getting. "You kidnapped me, drugged me, locked me underground for I don't know how long... and now you want me to work with you? Are you crazy?"

Arthur's frown deepened. "So, you're saying no, then?"

Audrey smirked at him. "No shit, I'm saying no. Crazy bastard!"

Arthur sighed. "Such a shame. We really could have used your ability." She hadn't even realized the men entering the room behind her until they held her by her arms, forcing them behind her back. Arthur walked forward, shaking his sleeves back from his hands. "Now, I'll have to take it by force." He clamped his hands down on either side of Audrey's head.

The pain was excruciating. Audrey felt as if he were ripping her to pieces from the inside, pulling parts of her into him. All she could think of was how, if this was the end, at least she would see Kyle again. Her thoughts were filled with him. Kyle's voice singing, the sound of him strumming his guitar, the look of concentration on his face whenever he used his gift... As she remembered Kyle, the pain receded. She was herself, she was whole.

Arthur removed his hands from her scalp. Her stared at them, confused, then looked at her incredulously. "That's interesting." Audrey felt the guards shift uneasily behind her, shuffling in confusion. They must have realized that their boss was unable to take her power. "That's very interesting..." he mused. He turned to the door, making a motion with his hands. A stream of doctors flooded in to the room. The IV was back in her arm and the sedatives leaked back in to her system. She felt herself lulled back in to a sleep.

At the door, Arthur Petrelli turned and glanced back at her. She did her best to glare at him, but her lids were heavy and her vision blurred. "This may be harder than anticipated, but I will have your ability yet." His voice had turned dark and threatening, and for a moment, Audrey didn't doubt him.


	11. Chapter 11: Powers

Audrey woke up to the sounds of gunfire.

She had been regaining her consciousness slowly over the past several days. At first, she was only able to twitch her limbs, maybe shift her toes. As time passed, she was able to bend her arm, lift her head. Now, she was entirely immune to the effects of the sedatives they had been giving her. Closing her eyes, Audrey switched off the IV with a thought. She reached over and pulled the long needle out of the crook of her elbow. Ick. She'd always hated needles. That was when she heard the single shot fired.

Suddenly, she was on her feet, for the first time in at least a month. She dashed across the room and reached within the lock on the door using her mind's eye. She heard a satisfying click and the door swung open of its own accord. Her feet touched carpet, soft of her bare toes. She was standing in an immaculately cleaned and furnished hallway. The light was soft, but her eyes were ill adjusted. To her left, the hall continued to a large white door with an EXIT sign above. To her right, the double doors were red, and she heard voices coming from within. She took the right. As an afterthought, Audrey thought of a young girl she had met at a carnival in the fall of 2007. She glanced down at her arms as they faded in to nothingness.

Audrey stepped in to an enormous office, but luckily, the scene within was so intense that no one noticed the soft click of the door as it opened and closed. She knew everyone in the room. Arthur Petrelli, the man she hated and feared, was standing stock still, a bullet floating mid air just inches from his fore head. Holding the gun... was the man from Audrey's dreams. The perfect, wonderful, handsome and kind man who flew with her almost every night. He was shaking, and he looked uneasy. He was not a killer by nature, Audrey knew. He was staring at a third man, the man holding the bullet still...

An echo from her past. A nightmare that still woke her each night, sweating and screaming. Sylar. He was the one she hated most of all. For killing Kyle. But even through her hate, she knew it wasn't his fault. He hadn't set that fire. She had. Now, it seemed he wanted Arthur Petrelli dead as much as she did.

"You're not a killer, Peter," he said. His voice was as calm and gentle as the day she had first met him, back when he was just 'Gabriel. "But I am." He let go, and the bullet flew in to Arthur's skull. He fell to the ground. Blood seeped over the perfect carpet. His life blood. With it, went all his abilities, all of his knowledge. A thought struck me. Arthur had stolen his abilities from other specials. Was it right for them to go to waste? As his life leaked on to the carpet, Audrey ran, invisible, to Arthur's side. She placed her hands on his head and concentrated.

A flood of power, so many abilities, collected over so many years, all came rushing in to her. Arthur's dying mind was a wealth of information, and Audrey took what she pleased. The secrets of Pinehearst, Arthur's master plan. Aah, she thought. His end game was to create a formula that would give abilities to normal people. He would be wealthy beyond belief if he had succeeded. She took the formula from him, and something called 'The Catalyst' that made the formula work.

And interesting piece of information caught her; the man from her dreams, the man with the gun, was his son. Peter. Now he had a name. Peter Petrelli. Audrey sighed. It was perfect.

The information slowed as Arthur's body died, and his memories died with him. Audrey stepped back. She had all that she needed. Several moments had passed, and the room had been vacated. Sylar was gone. Peter had disappeared through another set of doors, Audrey could sense him. She walked towards the doors and she felt a searing wave of heat. Another pyrotechnic.

Behind the doors was a lab, full of vials and barrels of completed formula. Peter threw the vials on the ground, obliterating Arthur's work, and a large bald man set fire to the flammable substance. Another man, with dark skin and long, curly dark hair, lay on the ground, protesting. His face was covered in scales. He needed that formula, he pleaded. Peter ignored him. The bald man was out of control. Peter told him to stop. He would kill everyone in the building. All they wanted was the formula. But I could sense the bald man's thoughts, and he wanted revenge.

"Peter," came a voice, and a fourth man walked in, I recognized him from the papers; Senator Nathan Petrelli. Peter's brother. I should have realized. The flames roared in my ears, and I lost what they said, but they were arguing. A massive barrel was capsized, and the formula spilled all over the floor. It washed all over the pleading man, whose scales were erased. The flames flared up, separating me from Peter, Peter from Nathan.

"Nathan!" Peter cried. Even in the midst of their fighting, he felt concern for his brother. My heart swelled for him. Peter searched the ground, and found the last syringe of formula. He in injected himself with it, stabbing deep. He ran at his brother, and the pair of them soared out the window. The man who flew, the man from my dreams.

I stood alone now, as pieces of the lab fell in flaming pieces around me. I knew I should try to escape, but I was entranced by the formula that lapped at my feet. The ability to give power to others... For a moment, I was scared of myself, of my own desire for power. Was I better, ultimately, than Arthur Petrelli? He had wanted to play God, deciding who was worthy of abilities and who was not. He wanted power, control, over who would survive in his new world.

I didn't want to play God. I didn't want that sort of responsibility. But, I had gained some perspective over what happens when an individual has too much power. What happens when they abuse their power. Arthur Petrelli had destroyed countless lives, stealing their abilities against their will, ruining their hopes and dreams for themselves. Audrey could make things right. She could give back what he had stolen... She just had to trust herself not to be consumed by that power.

_You can do it. _Audrey imagined Kyle standing beside her, whispering praise and approval in to her ear, like he always used to. _I believe in you. _Kyle believed in her. She could do it. Reaching down with both hands, Audrey placed them in the formula. Fire light reflected off the wet floor. It was a strange feeling, absorbing such power externally. It wasn't a rush of heat to her core, as she was used to. This was a cold trickle, seeping its way in to her system and running through her veins.

A beam from the roof fell, not feet away from Audrey. _That'll have to do, _she thought, and she stood abruptly. The window was still unblocked by flames, though the roof above looked dangerously unsteady. She ran, full tilt, for the window. The ceiling over head rumbled. Audrey dove headfirst out the windows as the ceiling came crashing down behind her. For one terrifying, exhilarating moment, she was falling. Then, she was flying, higher, higher, above the burning wreckage of her prison.

She would fly, hours and hours in to the night, back to Texas. When she got there, she'd back up a few possessions, her cash, Kyle's guitar, and take to the skies. She would spend the next several weeks, months, years, if she had to; tracking down the specials whose lives had been ruined by Arthur. She would give them their abilities back, help them, and teach them control. Audrey would make a difference. And for the first time since Kyle's death, she would be absolutely, completely, free.


	12. Chapter 12: Brave New World

June, 2010**  
><strong>Sydney, Australia****

When the world changed forever, Audrey was in Australia. It had been a year and a half since Pinehearst. In that time, Audrey had visited countries all around the world, tracking down specials and training them to use their abilities. She was a better teacher than she was a waitress. Most of the people she found were aware of their gifts, and terrified. Audrey could understand that. She helped them to understand where their gifts came from, and she offered them control. If they required it, she offered them an escape. She would use Arthur's original git to remove their abilities.

At the time, Audrey was working with a young woman named Samantha. Sam had been a university grad student in Sydney when her gift had manifested. For a time, she had been off the grid, hiding in the outback, until Audrey had found her and taken her under her wing. Sam had the ability to control the air. Of course, it was unpredictable, and when her emotions got the better of her, could be dangerous. Audrey tried to teach her control, focus and restraint. Thing like that didn't come easily to the wind, and they didn't come easily to Sam, either. It further proved Audrey's theory that abilities reflected on the individual.

The day had started like any other. Audrey rose early and watched the sun rise. As she felt its heat touch her face, she'd think of Peter, and her dreams. She dreamed about him almost every night. Sometimes they were flying. Sometimes they were sitting in a cafe or on the beach. Audrey wondered if the dreams had any basis in reality, or if Peter had them too. When she met him face to face, would he recognize her? Would he love her?

Sam was a late riser, so Audrey would put on a pot of coffee, hoping the smell would entice her out of bed. It usually worked. Sam would grumble and complain, but she shut up after the first two cups. Then, Audrey told her to meditate. Sam would sit alone on the bedroom floor with her eyes closed, and focus on levitating herself a foot off of the ground. It wasn't levitation, necessarily, more like she was sitting on a cushion of air. She would hold that pose for minutes, hours, if Audrey was lucky. It helped her focus.

In the meantime, Audrey would focus on honing her own abilities. She had amassed a formidable collection, abilities from every special she had ever met, and some she hadn't. The trick was cataloging her abilities so she knew where she would locate them within herself, and how to withdraw them one by one. She was getting better; she only ever lapsed in her control once. But she had eventually been able to pay off the insurance.

That day, for some reason, she felt compelled to turn on the television. She would never understand why. Audrey flipped through the channels, stopping on the news channel from New York. She felt a swell of nostalgia. She missed home, missed the bustle of the city, the loud, never ceasing noise, even her old job and her old boss. But really, what she missed the most was Kyle.

Audrey reached for her coffee and stopped. Something had caught her attention on screen. The volume was muted, but Audrey saw a mass of people running from a carnival, screaming as the earth shook beneath their feet. The camera person was running quickly away from the scene, but Audrey caught a glimpse of him. Peter. He was there, in New York. And he was in danger. Suddenly, the shaking on the screen stopped.

Audrey heard a loud _thump _from the other room, followed by a pained "OW!". Sam walked in, rubbing her backside. "I lost control again, but I managed almost an hour. Hey, what are you-" Audrey shushed her. Sam flopped onto the couch beside Audrey, her mouth agape with shock.

A teenage girl, short, with blond curly hair, climbed to the top of the Ferris Wheel. Sam reached for the volume and turned it up. The girl had reached the top. She took a step, and plummeted 50 feet, smashing into the ground. Audrey drew in a breath. On screen, reporters were gasping in fear and dismay. Then, to all of their shock, the girl stood up.

Her face was torn and bloodied, and her broken ribs poked through her shirt, but as Audrey watched, the wounds closed. The girl pushed her ribs back into her flesh and the gaping holes left behind healed over. The reporters were hardly breathing. "My name is Claire Bennet," the girl on the TV said," and that was attempt number... well, I've lost count."

Sam clicked the power button. She turned to Audrey, her face a mask of shock, terror and awe. Her eyes asked the question, _What the hell just happened? _Audrey didn't know. That Claire Bennet had just let the cat out of the bag. The whole world would know about specials, and everything would change for her. Audrey didn't know what had happened, but she knew that nothing would ever be the same again.


	13. Chapter 13: Changes

After Claire's public display of power, the world was thrown in to a crazed frenzy. The video of Claire's fall had received more than 1 billion hits on YouTube, and almost just as many comments. She was on television almost every day; giving interviews for almost every morning talk show, evening talk show, and everything in between. She told the world that there were others, like her, out there. She shouted out to them, "I did this for you, for us all. We shouldn't have to hide what we are."

Some people agreed with her. These specials were human too, albeit extraordinary humans. They shouldn't have to live in fear of discovery. Others disagreed, saying that they could be dangerous. They wanted all the specials to be rounded up and placed in concentration camps, separated from 'normal' people. Some extremist even went so far as to say that all specials should be publicly executed, putting an end to the danger. All around the world, reports of specials being murdered popped up. Audrey doubted that even one of the murdered individuals had any sort of power.

In the government, the same debate raged. Human Rights group, the UN, political leaders from all countries met to discuss the issue. 'Specials', they all agreed, were potentially dangerous, but still human individuals. They needed to deal with them humanely, but they needed to keep them in check. For months, debates ran between countries. Half wanted to allow them to live their lives normally. They wanted to deny the issue, sweep it under the rug. Others were in support of the concentration camps. It would be humane, they argued, but they needed to protect the normal population.

In the end, a solution was reached. Specials, as they were now officially titled, would be allowed to live their lives as normally as possible. Governments created a new division of the United Nations, one that all countries were obligated to join. The United Nations for the Protection of Specials. The board members of this new division consisted of humans and specials alike, working together to protect everyone. Claire was offered a head position, which she accepted. Her father, a man named Noah Bennet, also headed the division.

Their first decree was to create the Registered Specials Act. All specials around the world needed to submit themselves for registration, where they would be cataloged according to their abilities. These files would be kept under armed guard, with the highest possible levels of security. World government s would not have access them, unless a disaster occurred and it was deemed necessary. Specials that were not deemed a threat, or who had control over their abilities, would be allowed to continue living their lives normally.

For more dangerous individuals, or less controlled ones, The UNPS created several schools on each continent. The location of these schools was kept secret, and they were only to be run by specials and a small team of human scientists and officials. The schools were training centres, where specials would be studied to learn the best way to control their abilities. They would be taught meditation, channeling, anything that would help. In some cases, specials would ask or require the removal of abilities. The top geneticists in the world were still looking for that solution.

Of course, there were still issues to be dealt with. Some humans were hostile towards these specials, and if they discovered one, they would have them put to death. That's why privacy was of such key concern. Other specials had been kidnapped, by extremist who believed that they had obtained their powers artificially. They demanded to be shown how to obtain their own abilities. The UNPS commanded a small team of trained soldiers who would deal with kidnap and murders.

Audrey herself never registered with the UNPS. She stayed hidden, under the radar, while she continued her work. She located hundreds more specials, helped them, and brought them to the UNPS offices for registration. It was her new mission to discover these specials before anyone else did. She got them help before anyone would hurt them. Audrey felt that, if they knew about her, the UNPS would approve of her actions, but she wasn't sure. So she kept moving.

Years passed, and soon, the world grew more used to the idea of specials. Kidnapping and murder were rarer now, not unheard of, but less common. The UNPS was doing their job well. The world fell into a lull, back to its monotonous routine after the event that had shaken everything up. Audrey decided that it was safe enough now. She was going home.

* * *

><p>Linda Ku - Super huge 'Thanks' for the review! Here's the next few chapters, and I'll try to get more up as soon as I can :)<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: The Past Erased

October, 2012**  
><strong>New York City, New York

Clouds of ash swirled around Audrey's feet, staining her jeans with dust as she walked through the ruins of her old apartment. The owners hadn't bothered to rebuild after the fire. They relocated themselves to another neighbourhood, leaving the charred remains of their old life behind them. It was a scar in Audrey's past, an ugly burn that refused to go away. It was a reminder that Kyle was gone.

The building was set for demolition. The city had decided to remove the eyesore and build a new apartment building. Audrey had requested that they hold back, at least for a few hours. She wanted to say goodbye. Now she stood in the spot where she had on that night, 6 years ago, and wondered what she was saying goodbye to, exactly.

Like this apartment, Audrey remained scarred from the events that had taken place here. She knew that, despite what she had told herself, she had never gotten over losing Kyle. Try as she might, she couldn't get those last images she had of him out of her head. She couldn't deny that it had been her fault he died. Tears rolled down her face and splashed into the ash, raising small dust clouds with their impact.

Audrey was ready now, she thought. Ready to move on. For 6 years, she had tried her best to erase the memories of her old life, to make amends for what she had done. She had tried to escape her past, making new memories, making new friends, running from the city and the people she loved. She couldn't escape it anymore. She wouldn't do that to herself. She would face her past, head on, and remove the echoes of pain. Audrey turned and walked away from the ruined walls, away from the remnants of her old life. She only took Kyle's guitar, again, to memorialize him.

When she had reached a safe distance, the wrecking ball swung. The last wall left standing collapsed into a heap of rubble. Again, the wrecking balls struck, taking down pieces of wall and ceiling and counters. Soon, there was nothing left. Tomorrow, someone would come and clear the rubble away. It would be erased from the cities memory. With every swing, Audrey felt herself relax, let go. The remnants of her old life were gone. She was a new person. She was Audrey Whytmor, and nothing more. Her past had shaped her into this new person, now she would start her new life.

It was time for her to pay Peter a visit.


	15. Chapter 15: Meeting Peter

Audrey sat at the kitchen table and glanced around the apartment, which was lit only by the dim light coming in from the windows. The sky outside was overcast, but it hadn't rained yet. Peter's apartment was very empty, Audrey noted. He was a man with few possessions other than the necessities he needed. Despite having a huge share of his father and brothers fortune left to him, he lived simply. Audrey liked that.

She had let herself in the apartment. Actually, she had walked in through the door. That ability had been one of Peter's, and it had been extremely useful over the years. She wouldn't definitely hang out to it after she had returned Peter's original abilities. That was her excuse for being here. She would offer him his old powers back, and with the help of the formula she had absorbed, she would be able to. It had worked on other specials. That was just her excuse though. Really, she wanted to meet the man from her dreams for real. She wanted to look into his eyes and see recognition, see him love her the way she had loved him for the past 6 years.

There was rattling of keys, and the sound of curses being muttered under breath from outside the apartment. Audrey stood, pushing back the chair with a gentle scraping sound. This was the moment. She would meet her flying angel, her Peter, face to face for the first time. Would he recognize her? Would he know her? She was filled with a small sense of panic, but she knew she couldn't turn back now. Not without regretting it for the rest of her life.

The door handle turned and clicked as the door itself opened, and Peter walked in. He was dressed in the uniform of a paramedic, and there were small amounts of rust-coloured blood staining the front of his shirt. He looked tired and sweaty, his long hair hanging in his face, but a sense of contentment emanated from him. He had saved a life, Audrey gathered. Her hero. Peter pushed shut the door and threw his keys onto the small side table. He pulled his bloodied shirt up over his head and tossed it into a basket of dirty laundry by the door. Underneath, he wore only a white muscle shirt, the white standing out against his tanned skin. With a sigh, he turned and stepped towards the small kitchen, stopping when he saw Audrey there.

Neither one of them spoke. After the initial shock and fear faded from Peter's eyes, it was replaced with a look of calculated concentration. Audrey tried to keep her face as composed, but she was filled with excitement and wonder at the sight of him. He was here, he was real. Peter spoke, and his voice was exactly as it had been in her dreams, albeit slightly more hostile.

"Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?"

Audrey's heart and face fell slightly. He didn't know her, or else he didn't remember. The dreams were her own. Perhaps destiny had been taunting her with a future that could never be. Her eyes welled with tears, but she held them back. If he didn't love her, he would at least respect her. She would finish what she had come to do. Audrey hadn't noticed that she had been ignoring his question.

"I said, who are you?" Peter demanded again. Audrey was overwhelmed with the sadness again. He really didn't know her. She hadn't realized the possibility that he wouldn't return her love. Peter reached into his pants pockets and drew out a small pebble. He held it on the palm of his hand. "I think you should leave," he threatened. Audrey frowned. What could a little pebble do?

Peter twitched a finger, and the pebble rose into the air above his palm. He left it hovering there, rotating by some unseen force. His eyes were dangerous. "You really need to leave."

Audrey was confused. She thought his power, the one her currently had, anyways, was flight. She reached out with her mind. _Aah, _she thought. Terrakinesis. She smiled at him. Peter's eyes narrowed and he gave a flick of his hand. The pebble shot forward so fast, Audrey nearly missed it. She raised her hand and stopped the pebble in mid-air, using Sylar's ability. Peter looked at her, incredulous. The pebble fell and clattered to the floor.

"Peter Petrelli," Audrey had found her voice. She tasted his name on her tongue like bittersweet honey. "My name is Audrey Whytmor, and we really need to talk." Audrey smirked as Peter meekly nodded.

30 minutes and two cups of tea later, Audrey and Peter sat opposite each other at the kitchen island. Peter seemed tense; he clutched his mug and stared at Audrey intently. She smiled warmly as she glanced nonchalantly around the apartment. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, here in Peter's company, sitting across from the man she loved. It was enough for her. He seemed much more impatient in person than he did in the dreams. She could feel the vibrations of his foot tapping on the floor as he waited for her to speak. When she didn't oblige, he blurted out, "So, you're a special, I get that. How the hell did you find me?"

"I take it you weren't expecting anyone to?" Peter nodded.

"I thought I'd been so careful. I moved, paid off the right people to make sure my file was hidden where no one would ever find it. I wanted to start fresh, without all of the 'save the world' crap again." His eyes flashed to Audrey face, speculatively. "And yet here you are."

"Here I am," Audrey agreed.

""Well, are you in any particular need of saving, or did you track me down to abduct me for some new government agency?" Peter said with apprehension. Audrey smirked.

"If I was here to abduct you, we'd already be gone," she said. Peter conceded her point. "And as far as I know, I'm not in any particular need of saving." Peter leaned back, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm here to help you, Peter. Because my dreams told me to." Audrey answered honestly. Peter sat up straight again and looked at her directly.

"Dreams?" Audrey nodded excitedly. Maybe he did remember her. He stood up and rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin. "Prophetic dreams?" he asked as he began pacing the floor. Audrey shrugged, but looked him straight in the eyes.

"I hope so," she said unflinchingly. The layers of meaning behind her voice caught his attention, and he stopped and stared at her. Audrey met his gaze with a look of such fiery determination and passion that he wished he could have shared the dreams with her. _What did she dream about_? he wondered. Who did she see him as?

"You said you're here to help me? With what?"

"Do you remember Pinehearst?" Audrey asked. Peter suppressed a shudder. Of course he remembered Pinehearst. He'd lost everything there, his abilities, his father... that had been the beginning on the divide between him and Nathan. A rift he had never fully healed before Nathan's death. His greatest regret in life was not making things right before Sylar had killed his brother. Peter drew in a sharp breath before he nodded.

"Of course I remember Pinehearst. My father ran the place, and he ruined a lot of lives. I killed my own father to save the world, again." Audrey could see that the memory still pained him.

"You didn't kill your father, Peter. Sylar did." Audrey said defiantly. Peter looked at her in surprise. "I was there. Your father abducted me, because he wanted to use me for my ability. I refused, so he tried to take it from me."

"But he couldn't?" Peter sounded surprised. "How? What is it that you do?"

Audrey shrugged, like it was no big deal. "I absorb anything that makes me stronger. Abilities, information, skills... My twin brother, Kyle, had a gift too. He was immune to the abilities of others."

"Had a gift?"

"He died."

It was a simple sentence, two words, but to Audrey, it sounded so final and absolute. She felt tears spring to her eyes, but she wiped them away angrily. Peter was filled with pity. "Hey," he said comfortingly. He crossed the room to her in a few strides and took her into his arms. Just like in her dreams. Audrey leaned in close, and he held her tighter. He smelled incredible, like rain and freshly turned earth. "I'm sorry. I know how it feels." Audrey knew that he knew. She had seen the papers when Nathan had died, and she had known he was Peter's brother. Even though she had never met the man, she visited his grave with flowers upon her return to the city.

"So, your brother's ability protected you from my father?" Peter prompted, searching for something, anything, to distract Audrey from her painful memories. She nodded into his shirt, and when she stepped back, her eyes were clear.

"He was pretty damn pissed about that." Peter chuckled. He could only imagine. Seeing Peter laugh made Audrey smile slightly. "He kept me on sedatives, but I slowly absorbed their properties and built up immunity. Eventually, I was able to escape. I entered your father's office in time to see you, and Sylar, and your father. You pulled the trigger, but Sylar is the one who killed your father." Peter's eyes were wide. "This isn't the first time we've met, Peter. I've known you for 4 years, 6 if you include my dreams."

"I never saw you there..."

Audrey grinned sheepishly. "I was invisible. Something I picked up over the years. Anyways, as your father lay dying, I decided that the abilities he had amassed, the lives he had stolen, needed to be returned. I absorbed them all, and I took a good chunk of his memories and his knowledge on specials. That's how I learned your name." Audrey wanted desperately to reach out and touch his face, but she restrained herself. "I followed you into the lab. I saw your fight with the pyro, how you wanted to save everyone's lives, even though they had ruined yours. I saw your fight with your brother, Nathan, and how you injected yourself with the formula to save him." Peter cast his eyes downward.

"It didn't work, in the end. Saving him. He died anyways." This time, Audrey didn't stop herself. She laid her hand on the side of Peter's face, fitting her palm to his prominent cheekbones. He leaned his head into her hand, taking comfort from the gesture

"You were so brave," she whispered. "He admired that. He loved you." Peter nodded into her hand. Now he was the one struggling with tears. "Do you want to hear the rest? Or should I wait?" She left the choice up to him. Peter took a breath to steady himself. He wanted to hear this now.

"Go on, please."

Audrey smiled at him sadly and withdrew her hand. Almost immediately, he wished that she hadn't. "I was left alone in the burning building. Everyone had evacuated. The formula to give powers to people hadn't quite evaporated yet. And I had a thought." Audrey struggled at how to best explain her choice. "I never wanted power, never wanted to play God, deciding who should have abilities or not. But when I saw the formula left over, I just acted. I guess the thought running through my head was: I could make a real difference now. I could return abilities to everyone Arthur had stolen them from, and maybe, if I could give people abilities, I could find an easier way to take them away. So I absorbed the properties of the formula."

Peter looked at her in awe. Audrey felt very self-conscious under his gaze. "You can give powers to people?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "and in cases like yours, I can give them back."

Peter's eyes shone with excitement. The prospect of his old powers, his original ability, thrilled him. He had felt so useless when he had regained his lesser ability, the one he had now. But then he hesitated. Audrey noticed. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's just..." Peter bit his lip. "I've spent the past 4 years reconciling myself with the fact that I'll never be as powerful as I used to be. I've done good things with my new ability. I'm not as powerful, but I'm also not tempted to use my powers in the wrong way. My control is better. I don't want to risk blowing up New York again." Peter shuddered at the thought of what could have happened 6 years ago, if Nathan hadn't helped him. He had seen that particular future and everything had been annihilated.

Audrey reached out with her hand again but stopped halfway. Peter reached out and caught it, holding it within his own. "I understand, Peter," she sympathized. "I struggle for control every day. It can be scary, knowing what I'm capable of." She breathed deeply, and confided in him something she'd never told anyone before. "I'm the reason my brother is dead. I started the fire that killed him, because I couldn't control it." Peter rubbed her fingers gently. "I had to accept the fact that this ability is who I am. My struggle for control, it makes me a stronger person, everyday. I'm better person because of it. I've accepted the fact that this is who I am, and I wouldn't have been given this ability if I didn't know how to deal with it." Audrey smiled in encouragement. "And neither would you."

Peter couldn't argue with her. He knew she was right. He had been given power for a reason. He could control it if he had to. Peter took a deep breath and let go of Audrey's hand. He paced to the window, staring through the panes of glass without really seeing much. He could hear the noise of the city outside. The city he had saved numerous times. Using his ability.

"Alright," he said. "Let's do it."


	16. Chapter 16: Sparks

"So, how exactly does this work?" Peter asked as he stood opposite Audrey. She had stripped of her sweater; underneath she only had on her cotton undershirt. Peter found himself trying not to stare. She looked very beautiful, with the dim light of the moon shining off of her alabaster skin.

"It's pretty simple. Using the properties I absorbed from the formula, and my own control over it, I'm able to selectively choose the abilities people received," Audrey explained. "I'm going to give you your original power of empathic mimicry, as well as any other powers you had at the time, with a couple of exceptions."

"Like...?"

"Sylar's ability to see how thing work, for starters. It's too dangerous. The hunger that accompanies it..." Audrey shuddered; thinking of the way Gabriel had assaulted Kyle and her, his ability compelling him to steal theirs. Now that she understood his gift, she found she could sympathize with him a little bit more. "Also, the control of radiation. Control can be difficult enough without the risks of exploding or accidentally giving someone radiation poisoning."

Peter thought back to Tim Sprague, and how that ability had killed his wife, and nearly been the cause of a bomb that would wipe out New York. "Yeah, I see what you mean. But what about you? You have both of those in the same body. It wasn't easy for me before, it can't be easy for you."

"I established a mental block using telepathy. I couldn't access those powers, even if I wanted to," she explained. "Are we doing this or not?"

"Yes, sorry," he apologized. "So I'll have all my abilities, prior to meeting my not-dead father, with the exception of those two?" he confirmed. Audrey nodded. "Alright then. Let's do it."

Audrey stepped in closer. The two of them were standing in the middle of the living room area, face to face. Audrey's was inches away from Peter, so close that he could see the flecks of green in her dark brown eyes. The air between felt heavy, thick with unseen sparks, like a wall separating them. Preventing them from doing... what? Peter wasn't sure. He didn't know if he could think anymore, staring into Audrey's beautiful eyes. She raised her hands and placed one on either side of his head. She closed her eyes, and Peter's mind cleared, though only slightly.

For several moments, everything was silent. Audrey stood in deep concentration, her eyes tightly shut. Peter observed the little crease in between her brows as she concentrated. Then, his thoughts were filled with her presence. She was there, literally inside his head, feeding him power that he had not felt in years. It was painful and beautiful at the same time.

For Audrey, the moment she entered Peter's mind, it was as if the sparks surrounding them had ignited into a fireworks show. Light and sound and colour burst in her vision behind closed lids. She concentrated on the Peter from her dreams, the Peter in front of her now, everything he had been, everything he was and would be. She felt a drop in her strength as power surged out of her, but it returned just as quickly as her gift took over and she absorbed some of his ability back.

The exchange lasted seconds, minutes, hours. Time had ceased to matter. Audrey and Peter had melded into one mind in the share of power between them. Finally and all too quickly, it was over. Audrey fell backwards, panting, and the connection between the two was severed. Peter's eyes flew open, and he was breathing just as hard. The two stopped a moment and slowly regained their breath.

The sparks had returned, and the air was thick and hot with them. Audrey had returned abilities to several individuals over the years, but she had never experienced anything like that. She wasn't sure if it was because it was the most power she had ever returned, or because it was Peter, someone she shared an emotional connection too... or something else. Something she couldn't quite identify.

Peter was confused as well. He had felt love before, with Simone, and Caitlin. He might have felt that way for Emma someday, too, but it had never seemed right to him. They were good friends, but she wasn't the one he was looking for. Yes, he had felt love, but this was so much more potent than that. It wasn't love; it was much, much more. As Peter struggled in his mind to put a name to what he felt, Audrey kissed him.

She hadn't thought of kissing him, the thought had =never crossed her mind. She simply acted. One minute she was standing several feet away, struggling to comprehend what had happened between them, and the next, she was in his arms, her lips on his lips, her hands on his chest, clutching the thin muscle shirt that he was still wearing.

The sparks had ignited again; they both saw and felt them. Their lips moved together in perfect sync as the fireworks burst all around them. Audrey's breathing raced. She had never felt this before, and she didn't want it to stop. Peter reached out tentatively with his new found abilities. His mind touched her, a cautionary prod at first, then they enveloped each other in what they were thinking, feeling. They fed of each other's emotion, adding to the fire, and the kiss grew stronger.

Audrey leaped up into Peter's arms, hitching her legs around his waist. Again, there was no thought behind it, it just happened. Her hands tangled themselves into his long hair, roping him to her, pulling his face even closer. One of his hands held her in the small of her back, pushing her closer against him, while the other felt blindly around for the wall. There it was. He never tore his face away from hers as he stumbled towards the bedroom. Thank goodness the door was already open. That saved time.

The pair fell on to Peter's bed, making an even greater mess of his unmade sheets. Audrey pulled herself away to catch her breath. Peter was panting heavily also. "Is this... part of what... normally happens?" he asked in between gasps.

"This is... a first... for me," she laughed breathlessly. He joined her, and the laughed and laughed, shaking with mirth and they rolled around on the bed. Their breathing returned to normal.

"So, what do you propose we do, considering this is your ritual?" he queried, smiling his adorable little half-grin at her. Audrey smiled mischievously. She reached out with a hand, and the door slowly creaked shut.


	17. Chapter 17: Confrontations

The sun rose hot and bright that morning, warming Audrey bare shoulders as she lay across Peter's chest. She was awake, but she didn't want him to know that yet. She was enjoying this. Peter had one arm wrapped around her shoulders and tracing patterns along her arm. The other played with a loose strand of her hair, tucking it behind her ear, tracing the lines of her cheekbones, and untucking it again. The repetitive motions were soothing, particularly in comparison to the night before.

Audrey smiled, and Peter felt her cheeks lifting against his chest. He had been up for at least an hour, admiring how the sunlight made her hair shine a reddish-bronze colour. As he played with a loose strand, he thought back on his life. What had he done in his life to deserve this beautiful, proud, strong woman that was lying next to him? Last night, when their minds had joined together, she held nothing back. She experienced every dream again with her, 6 years worth of dreams that she had remembered and treasured. 6 years that she had loved him, without even knowing him. It seemed he had a lot to live up to, and he refused to let her down.

"Are you awake yet," he said lightheartedly, the smile on his face affecting his tone. Audrey raised her head slightly. Her eyes were bleary with sleep, but the look of happiness of her face was shining. She seemed to ponder it for a moment, but shook her head and lowered it back on to his chest.

"Nope."

Peter chuckled. "You'll have to get up sometime."

"What if I don't want to?" Audrey protested. "What if I want to stay here, in this bed, with you, forever?" Her tone was joking, but her heart fluttered as Peter leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I wouldn't mind that so much either," his breath tickled the side of her face. Audrey laughed and rolled onto her back. She propped herself up on the bed using her elbows and turned her head to Peter. His eyes followed her every movement. She laughed as she shook out her hair, and tied it into a high ponytail using the elastic band around her wrist.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked as she tightened the elastic.

"Long enough to make coffee." Audrey frowned.

"I didn't feel you get up," she protested. Peter smiled impishly.

"That's because I didn't," he said, raising a hand and pointing towards the kitchen. Audrey followed where he was pointing and saw the coffee pot, already filled with steaming hot coffee, shift by some invisible hand to pour its contents into two mugs that had floated out of the cupboard above the sink. "Milk? Sugar?" Peter asked. Audrey shook her head. A container of milk floated over from the fridge and poured itself into one of the mugs. Then both came floating through the door. Audrey grabbed the one without milk.

"Show off," she muttered before taking a sip. Peter chuckled.

"I thought I would have forgotten how to use these powers. But the control is still there," he smiled with pride. "I don't know how I can thank you enough."

"Oh, you did," she said, setting her coffee down beside her. "Last night." Audrey expected him to laugh, or at least smile, but instead a strange look crossed his face.

"And, do all of your ..." he struggled to find the word, "clients ... repay you that way?" Audrey's mouth hung open with shocked. Was he implying that she was a slut? Then she thought about what could have leaded him to that conclusion. It dawned on her. _He's jealous! _Audrey knew that it shouldn't make her happy, but she was bursting with joy. If he was jealous, he had to at least care for her a little bit! Audrey laughed.

"No! No, no I'd never do that!" she giggled. Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "Peter, for the past 4 years, from the moment I realized that you were real and not just a figment of my imagination... I've been waiting for you. I knew that what we had would be special, and I sure as hell wasn't going to screw it up."

It dawned on Peter how much she truly cared about him, about their relationship. She had spent years of her life waiting on a relationship that might never have happened. Now that he was here, beside her, it must have felt to her like everything she had waited for, all of the horrible events from her past, had lead her up to this moment. And here he was, meeting for the first time the woman who had loved him for 6 years. He couldn't even fathom that kind of faith, and he found himself unable to speak. So he kissed her.

Their kiss was interrupted by a knock at the door. Audrey moved to get up, but Peter whispered, "Leave it." He kissed her lips softly, once, twice, and the tense awareness faded from her eyes. She kissed him back. After a few minutes, however, she heard a click. Peter sat bolt upright.

"Does anyone else have the keys to your apartment?" she whispered under her breath. Peter shook his head. He unwrapped himself from around Audrey and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His palm filled with blue lightning as he slowly stood and took a step towards the door.

"Peter!" a man's voice, gentle but still urgent, called out. Peter breathed a sigh of relief, and the sparks disappeared.

"It's okay, Audrey," he said. "I know him. Let me handle this." Peter had already pulled on his jeans that were lying on the floor, and he pulled as old gray t-shirt over his head as he walked out the door. He shut it behind him, and Audrey was alone.

Everything seemed calm, and she could just make out Peter talking to another man in a muted tone. The strange man replied, and his voice grew angry and rose in volume. Audrey leaped out of bed. She pulled on her jeans and undershirt, the same outfit she had been wearing the night before. Then she faded into invisibility, just in case she needed to sneak up behind the strange man and surprise him. Audrey walked straight through the closed door.

"Peter, they came to my house! They had tranquilizer darts and guns! It wasn't an accident, someone has infiltrated the UNPS and has all of our files!" the strange man argued. Audrey stopped where she stood. It was the man she had hoped never to see again. It was Sylar.

"I can't believe that, Gabriel," Peter argued. "I trust Claire, and Noah. They use mind-readers in their applicant screening process! No one would be able to get into the division if they had the wrong intentions." Gabriel was shaking his head before Peter had even finished speaking.

"How else would they find me? I changed my name; my files were under the highest level of security ... I have to assume that if they can find me, they can find you. You have to leave."

Audrey lost focus. She materialized, there in the kitchen, only a few feet from the man of her dreams and the ghost from her past. Gabriel looked surprised, then embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Peter, I didn't realize you had company." his eyes flicked to Peter, then back to her. "Talented company."

Audrey scoffed. "Remember me, Gabriel?" Gabriel looked confused. "Figures," Audrey snorted. "You don't remember. I suppose you wouldn't, being a reformed serial killer, and all of that."

"I'm sorry, I really don't-" Audrey cut him off.

"My name is Audrey Whytmor. My brother was Kyle. I first met you outside of Dr. Chandra Suresh's apartment in 2006. Less than a month later, you tried to kill both my brother and I." Confusion was replaced by horror.

"Audrey-"

"You remember now?" Gabriel nodded, a look of shocked horror on his face. Audrey could see the remorse in his eyes.

"Audrey," Peter's voice was quiet. "Gabriel, what's going on?"

"Do you want to tell him, Gabriel, or shall I?" Audrey spat at him. Gabriel took a deep breath.

"6 years ago, I had only just discovered my abilities. I was Chandra's only project at the time. One day, he told me he had found another special, someone like me. A young woman named Audrey, and her brother, Kyle," Gabriel's voice broke on the last word. Peter was staring at Audrey with shocked concern, but she had her eyes closed tightly. "I couldn't resist. At the time, my self-control was non-existent. So I went to their apartment, and I tried to kill them both for their abilities." Gabriel looked at Audrey with pained shock as her remembered. "You set me on fire!" he sounded indignant.

"My brother Kyle died from smoke inhalation," Audrey explained. "It was my fault that he died. And I've waited all these years to tell you that." The confusion returned to Gabriel's face. "I never blamed you, Gabriel. I blamed myself. I pitied you. I know what it's like, not to have control over your powers. My brother died because I couldn't control mine." Peter reached out and grasped at her hand, rubbing her fingers comfortingly between his.

"Audrey, I spent a long time trying to come to terms with the things I've done. The hardest part was learning to forgive myself." Gabriel had looked relieved from the moment Audrey said she didn't blame him. She suspected that he had spent years, wondering what his victims would say to him if they could. "If I can try to forgive myself for countless murders, countless lives I destroyed... Your brother died to protect you from me. It wasn't your fault. He chose it." Gabriel added bravely, "He really loved you, Audrey."

Audrey looked at him and smiled. "I know."

Peter used his grip on Audrey's hand to pull her close to himself and wrap an arm around her. "You never told me about this." Audrey shrugged.

"It didn't matter before." She felt better than she had in years. It was such a relief, being able to confront Sylar at last, and release all of the pent up anger she'd felt at herself. She could truly move on now. "Now, what were you boys talking about before I interrupted?" Audrey could see them hesitate as they looked at one another. "Oh, please. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm fragile. You two are probably the most powerful specials alive, and I could kick both of your asses."

Peter cracked a grin. "You most definitely could," he said, kissing her neck. Audrey smiled.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Alright. You can help us. Gabriel? Tell her what happened to you last night."

Gabriel hesitated briefly, but flung himself into the same speech she presumed she had given Peter earlier. "Last night, a group of armed men broke into my house. They shot at me with tranquilizer darts and guns, and they had enough sedatives to hold even me down. I managed to escape without killing any of them, but I didn't have anywhere else to go. I can only assume that they know where my safe houses are. That led me to assume that they know where all of us are. I figured Peter was in danger, so I came here to warn him."

Audrey glanced at Peter. "You work with the UNPS indirectly, correct?" He nodded. "You haven't heard anything from them about new organizations that may want to kidnap and/ or harm specials?"

"If there is a new organization out there, they don't know anything about it." Peter said. Audrey nodded.

"I suspected as much. There's not much we can do without more Intel. Gabriel," she said suddenly, and he snapped to attention. It was almost comical. "You find yourself an apartment near here, under a false name. That way, we can meet and keep in touch." Gabriel nodded. Audrey continued. "Peter, you contact the UNPS, and let them know about the situation. Maybe we can pool our resources." Peter nodded as well, but he had a strange look of amusement on his face as she gave orders. "As for myself, I'm going to get changed, then track down some of my old friends in the city."

She detached herself from Peter and strode towards the bedroom. When Gabriel thought she had left earshot, he leaned towards Peter. "She really is something else, isn't she?" Audrey smiled. She could hear every word.

"You have no idea," Peter chuckled in response.


	18. Chapter 18: Perfect

December, 2012**  
><strong>UNPS Headquarters**  
><strong>New York City, New York****

Peter had finally convinced Audrey to allow him to take her to the UNPS. It had taken nearly two months of groveling, but he had finally convinced her that she needed to register herself as a special, and have diagnostic exams. "Your powers are incredibly unique, and potentially dangerous," he had pleaded. "You could hurt yourself if you don't have a better understanding of them. I trust Emma and Mohinder, they're like us. They won't do anything to harm you." Eventually, Audrey had agreed, albeit grudgingly.

"You're lucky that you're so damn cute," she said as he led her by the hand up to the 19-story office building in downtown New York that served as headquarters. "Otherwise, I would have bailed before you could even get me in the cab." Peter smiled at her, and she stuck out her tongue in return. That prompted him to laugh, and he pulled her close to give her a quick kiss.

"I adore you," he whispered. Audrey smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Did I say something wrong?" Peter asked, concerned. They had been together for a couple of months now, and he was happy, and she seemed happy, but their were times when, just like now, she didn't seem entirely content. Peter knew that she was waiting for him to catch up with her in the relationship, the relationship that she had built over 6 years.

"No. You're doing everything exactly right," she sighed. "I'm just impatient, and selfish, and sometimes I'm too clingy..." she rambled, but Peter closed her lips with another kiss.

"You're perfect," he said. That was all he needed to say. Audrey smiled again, only this time, her entire face lit up. "Now come one. You have an appointment with Dr. Coolidge, and you don't want to be late."

"No needles though, right?" Audrey confirmed. "You promised."

"It amazes me that you could stand up to Sylar, face armed men, and have the ability to do almost anything you desire ... but you squirm whenever someone mentions getting a needle." Audrey shrugged. Needles reminded her of hospitals, and hospitals reminded her of Kyle. Not to mention her time on sedatives at Pinehearst. Peter squeezed her hand reassuringly as he pulled her towards the glass double doors again.

The lobby was pleasant looking, with glass walls and floors of polished marble. Audrey suspected that they had tried to make it look like the lobby of any normal office building. Part of the secrecy and disguise. The front desk was polished, and so was the woman sitting behind it. Her teeth looked like a second sun, and Audrey felt she would go blind if she stared at her smile for too long.

"Peter Petrelli, here to see Dr. Emma Coolidge and Dr. Mohinder Suresh," Peter said in a confident tone. The secretary woman with the ridiculous teeth nodded, and placed her hand on a small red button, hidden next to a stack of papers. There was a faint buzzing sound, and the doors at the opposite end of the room slid open with a whoosh. "Thank you," Peter said, smiling at the woman.

"Peter!" a voice called, and Audrey turned to see a man with dark skin and even darker curly hair walking towards them. He was dressed in a white lab coat over jeans, and Audrey assumed that this was Mohinder Suresh. As he drew closer, Audrey could see the intelligent curiosity in his eyes, and the dimples in his cheeks. Just from those two traits, Audrey knew that he was most definitely his father's son.

"Mohinder," Peter smiled, and he puled him into a hug. As the pair pulled apart, Peter gestured with a free hand. "This is my girlfriend, Audrey Whytmor." Audrey's heart fluttered at the word 'girlfriend'. She didn't think she would ever get over how good it sounded, coming from Peter's mouth.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Mohinder said, taking Audrey's hand.

"Dr. Suresh," Audrey smiled warmly as they shook. "You remind me of you father. I think he'd be very proud of you."

Mohinder was shocked. "You knew my father?"

Audrey nodded. "Sylar was his patient zero... I guess I would be his patient one, or whatever. He studied me for a while, and I worked with him. At least, I did until Sylar tried to kill my brother and I." She said almost cheerily. Peter frowned at her and lifted an eyebrow. Audrey rolled her eyes at him. Mohinder just laughed.

"Well, I suppose that would put a bit of a damper on the relationship." Audrey decided that she liked him. He had a good sense of humor, and, if the behavior of his father was any indication, he truly loved science. He examined specials out of a private curiosity, not out of any desire for fame or power. "Follow me, please, both of you," he said, leading them through the doors that had opened moments ago. On the other side, he scanned a key card around his neck, and the doors slid closed.

They were now in a long, brightly lit hallway, with doors lining both walls. The whole place smelled like antiseptic. Audrey grabbed Peter hand. The smell made her sway on the spot as memories of her brother's hospital room came rushing back at her. Peter pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Mohinder noticed this and smiled sympathetically. "Are you okay?" Peter whispered in Audrey's ear. She nodded. She could get through it, for him.

"Peter! Audrey! It's so nice to meet you!" A pretty woman with long blonde hair stepped out of the nearest door to them. She was wearing a lab coat too, and Audrey knew that this was Dr. Coolidge. She used her hands a lot when she spoke, and Audrey remembered that Peter said she was deaf. Emma extended a hand, and Audrey shook it. In that instance the air was filled with colours, bright blues and deep reds, each accompanying a sound. The whir of the fans above them was like a swirl of neon green above their heads. Audrey stared in wonder.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" Peter said. Audrey nodded, and looked at Emma with new admiration. Emma looked slightly confused.

"Is that your ability?" Audrey began out loud,m but switched to her hands. _**You can see colours? **_she signed expertly. Comprehension dawned on Emma's face, and she nodded delightedly.

_**You're like Peter, **_Emma signed. _**You can use my gift. That's wonderful!**_ Audrey smiled at her. Still beaming, Emma beckoned for them to follow her. Mohinder went first, and Peter followed, Audrey still tucked beneath his arm.

"I didn't know that you knew sign language," he said.

"Baby, there's so much you don't know about me," Audrey giggled. She had learned sign language during her travels to find other specials. It had definitely been worth while, too. No matter where she went, even if she couldn't speak the language of the native peoples, she could communicate in small amounts by signing to them.

Emma and Mohinder led them into a large laboratory, at least twice the size of Peter's apartment. It would full of very shiny, very expensive looking equipment and screens. "Audrey, the first thing we'll need to do is take a full body scan, in order to examine any changes in your physiology." Audrey began to protest, but Mohinder cut her off. "Outwardly, your body appears normal, but I've seen these abilities manifest in the most curious ways. So, if you please, remove you sweater and any metals or loose clothing."

"Remove my clothing?" Audrey winked at Mohinder. "Are you sure this is just about examining my internal structure?" Mohinder looked flustered, and his skin coloured even darker around his cheeks. He fumbled for words, sputtering in embarrassment. "It was a joke, , your father reacted the same way when he took me for an MRI," she laughed. Mohinder breathed a sigh of relief. Audrey grinned as she pulled off her outer layer of clothing. She lay down on the flat bed, and it slid into a machine that greatly resembled an MRI. She waited inside the brightly lit tube as it whirred to life, the sound making spots of orange dance across her vision.

Outside, Mohinder watched on the monitor screen, Peter looking over his shoulder. "It's incredible," Mohinder exclaimed. "Her molecular structure is very similar to yours, in that its in a constant state of flux. But her brain has the most activity I've ever seen."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

Mohinder pressed a few keys and called up a larger scan of Audrey's brain. "Most humans only use a small percentage of their brain at any given time. Audrey, however, is using considerable amounts of all areas of her brain. It's remarkable. Her mind is a living powerhouse!" The whirring stopped, and Audrey slid back into view.

"I heard all of that. So, basically, my mind is like a supercharge of energy?"

Mohinder nodded excitedly. "Exactly. I'd love to take some blood samples, to further examine your DNA. Emma?" Emma walked to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a small syringe. Audrey cringed on the bed, curling herself into a ball. "Is everything all; right?"

Peter hurried over and sat beside Audrey, pulling her into his chest. "She had a fear of needles," he explained. "Several years ago, my father's group of scientists held her at Pinehearst, injecting her with sedatives and neuro-toxins." Mohinder nodded sympathetically. Emma kneeled in front of Audrey.

"We need to take your blood," she explained, "but only if you're willing. We can find another way, if you like." Audrey shook her head. She knew that there wasn't another way.

"Just do it quick, okay?" she requested. Emma nodded. Audrey leaned against Peter, breathing deeply. He held her close and murmured things in her ear, telling her how beautiful she was, and how brave, and strong. She felt the needle pierce her arm, and she struggled not to tense her muscles in response. The needle pulled out, and Audrey shuddered.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Peter said softly. Audrey leaned back to glare at him.

"You said no needles," she pouted. Peter laughed.

"I love you."

Audrey paused, forgetting to pout as he mouth fell open. Peter looked shocked to, as if he couldn't believe the words that had come out of his mouth, but his eyes were smiling. He had said it. He loved her! Mohinder took the blood sample from Emma, and began talking about diagnostic tests and specific genes that identified mutations. Audrey only half heard him. She was bursting with excitement, with anticipation. Peter loved her. Everything was perfect now.


	19. Chapter 19: Friends

January, 2013**  
><strong>New York City, New York****

From the moment Audrey woke up, she knew something wasn't right. It was like a thorn in her side, a nagging feeling that she just couldn't shake. Nightmares had plagued her, warning her that something awful was coming. Even sleeping next to Peter couldn't drive the nightmares away. She had woken up screaming throughout the night, shivering beneath the covers, sweat dripping from her skin despite the cool temperatures.

"Shh, Audrey, I'm here. I love you, I'm here." Peter would wake up with her, and held her in his arms until the shaking fits stopped. Her would whisper sweet nothings to her, stroking her hair as he held her close to his chest. Close enough that she could hear his beating heart, and know that he was alive and he was there for her. He would kiss her softly, on her head, her shoulder, her face. She would snuggle closer as her breathing slowed, and her shivers subsided into weak tremors. Then they would lie down again, and Audrey would drift off into an uneasy sleep, still enveloped in Peter's arms.

She woke up with the winter's sun rising in sky. Peter was still asleep on the bed beside her, one arm thrown up across his face. She felt his deep breathing tickle her hair across her face. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, the lines of worry that were normally etched on his brow were non-existent in this dream state. As she watched him sleep, a smile twitched on to his face. Audrey wished she knew what he was dreaming of. He looked so happy, happier than he did during his waking hours.

Lately, they had been under a great deal of stress. Other specials from Peter's past had come to them: Hiro Nakamura, Tracy Strauss, Micah Saunders... they all had similar stories to Gabriel's. Armed men, breaking into their homes, shooting at them with tranquilizer darts. Not government, they all insisted. Something worse. Much worse. Audrey couldn't help but agree. With the government, they at least had a code of conduct, a set of rules that they would follow, even when committing these unspeakable acts. These men, abducting specials, had no morals. They were ruthless. Hence the source of all of Audrey's nightmares.

Audrey slipped out of the bed, sliding herself off of Peter's arm and out from under the sheets. For the briefest of moments, she considered getting dressed. Her clothes were still piled on the floor from the night before. She ignored them, however, and instead slipped on the white, fluffy bath robe that Peter had bought her for Christmas. The soft fabric was warming on her bare skin. She tiptoed barefoot across the bedroom floor, and, because she did not want to risk waking Peter, she focused on her power and slipped through the door.

The apartment had changed in the months since her arrival into Peter's life. For one thing, it was cleaner. Stacks of dishes were no longer piled on the counter, but in the cupboard, where they belonged. Audrey had invested in a laundry hamper, after she had stumbled over the pile by the door at least a dozen times. And she'd bought living room furniture, nothing fancy, just a sofa and chairs. It looked like a home, now. Hers and Peter home. Audrey walked into the living room, where the window had the best view of the city. She stopped when she noticed something moving on the couch.

A sheet monster, quite literally, a misshapen bundle of blankets and sheets concealing a living could see the rise and fall of the person breath beneath the blankets. She raised her hand, and twitched her index fingers. The blankets balled up and flew into a corner of the room.

"What'd you do that for! It's cold!"

Audrey sighed. "Damn it, Gabriel! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?"

Gabriel was now sitting up of the couch, fully dressed in blue jeans and an over sized sweater. His dark hair was mussed, sticking up in every possible direction. "They turned the heat off in my apartment. The whole damn building is freezing. I figured I could crash here," he explained, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You could have woken us up and asked," Audrey scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. With another flick of her hand, she summoned the blankets back to her, and flung them in Gabriel's face. He caught them and set them on the couch beside him with a smirk.

"I would have, but the two of you sounded... busy," he leered at her. Audrey felt her face heat up as her cheeks reddened. Gabriel shrugged, but the ghost of a laugh was still etched on his face, and Audrey could tell he was trying not to smile. "So, things between you and Peter seem to be going well."

"You jealous?"

"Jealous? Of you? Or of Peter?" he laughed.

"If I recall, their was a time when you most definitely would have been jealous of Peter," she reminded him, grinning. Gabriel's face twisted with confusion. "Oh, how I regret the coffee date that never was," she prompted his memory. Confusion slid off his face as he remembered.

"The day we first met... outside of Dr. Suresh's apartment..." he said. He wasn't laughing now, or even smiling. His face was filled with regret for his past. "I genuinely was interested in having that coffee with you... before I tried to kill you."

Audrey shrugged. "No relationship is perfect," she said, trying to lighten the mood. She had forgotten how sensitive Gabriel could be about his past. Audrey had forgiven him, but despite his claims, she knew that he still struggled to forgive himself.

"Truer words have never been spoken," he said. "Audrey, how do you stand it? Being here, in the same room as me, knowing what I've done?" he blurted suddenly. "I'm a murderer, and I can't ever seem to forget that. But you and Peter... how can you be so forgiving?" He shoved his face into his hands, pushing his hair back from his forehead. His eyes had a tortured look to them. Audrey sat herself down on the couch beside him, and pulled one of his hands free. She took it in both of hers.

"I never forget," she explained honestly. "I don't think I ever will forget what you did, who you were." Gabriel lowered his head, ashamed. Audrey let go of his hand and took his face between her own hands. "Who you _were, _Gabriel. W_ere. _Past tense. Sylar is gone. He disappeared, more than two years ago. You're all that's left."

"And who am I?" he asked despairingly."The past shapes us... who am I without mine?"

Audrey answered with as much strength in her voice as she could muster. "You are Gabriel Gray. You are an incredibly brave and strong man, and you're among my closest friends." He stared at her in amazement.

"Is that what we are? Friends?" He sounded incredulous. Audrey nodded.

"Best friends," she gave him a gentle push on the shoulder. She smiled warmly at him, and she saw tears glistening in his eyes as he smiled back. "And you know what best friends do for each other?" Gabriel shook his head. "Best friends make coffee for their friends, especially after they spent the night on their couch," she said with a wink. Gabriel laughed.

"One cup of coffee, coming right up," he said, rising from the couch. As he walked towards the kitchen, the bedroom door opened and Peter walked out. He was only wearing sweatpants, bare chested as he pushed his long locks back from his face. Several times, he had asked Audrey if she thought he needed a haircut, but she always said no. She liked his bangs, hanging almost emo-ish in front of his eyes. She thought they were hot, and she told him frequently.

"Gabriel... I thought I heard your voice. What're you doing here?" Peter slurred, his speech exhausted.

"He's making us coffee, isn't that nice?" Audrey beamed at Peter. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "I'm going to get changed, if you two boys don't mind?" Audrey sprang up from the couch and kissed Peter once more before heading towards the bedroom. The nagging feeling that she had had all morning was almost forgotten. She shut the door behind her, and began rummaging through her side of the closet, looking for something clean to wear. She really needed to make a trip to the laundromat. As she sifted through clothes, she heard knocking on the door.

"I've got it!" she heard Peter call from the other room. _Aha_, Audrey thought, pulling out her oldest pair of jeans and a T-shirt she had bought at the Space tour less than a year ago. She pulled the jeans on and was just slipping the T-shirt over her head when she heard the clatter and smashing sound of a coffee mug being dropped to the floor in the other room.

Audrey burst through the door, not even bothering to open it. If the guest was someone who didn't know about specials.. well, she could always pluck that memories from his head. She needed to know if Peter was alright. He looked fine to her, although shaken. Coffee was splattered over the bottoms of his pants and on the floor around his feet, and shards of glass were scattered around in front of his. He looked shocked. Gabriel, who was still standing with the coffee pot, set it down on the counter and leaned his face into his hands.

Audrey looked at the bearer of what she assumed was bad news. He was a tall man, with horn-rimmed glasses, and thin, balding blonde hair. She recognized him as Noah Bennet, chairman of the UNPS and former Primatech employee. Claire Bennet's father.

"What is it? What's going on?" Audrey demanded, her voice raising in pitch with fear. Noah looked at her, his expression one of a defeated and despairing man.

"It's Claire," he said, and his voice sounded hollow. "She's been kidnapped."


	20. Chapter 20: Kidnapped

"Kidnapped?" Audrey exclaimed. "Are you sure?" Noah nodded gravely.

"They came for her in the middle of the night. Her roommate, Gretchen, told me all about it. At least a dozen men, dressed in black body suits and armed to the teeth with tranquilizer and guns. They knocked Gretchen out, and when she woke up, Claire was gone," he choked on the last word. Audrey nodded, unsurprised. His story was similar to all the others they had heard. The only difference was that, in this case, Claire had been unable to escape.

"Well, clearly, someone had information that they shouldn't have. Names, addresses, abilities... The only question is; where did they get it?" Audrey pondered.

"Not the UNPS," Peter spoke suddenly. His voice sounded hoarse. He gave a cough, clearing it as best he could. "I refuse to believe it. Security is way too tight, and I trust Matt's screening processes. It had to be somewhere else."

Audrey frowned. "Peter, we can't ignore the possibility that-"

"No!" he cut her off. Audrey flinched back. "I need to have one thing, just one thing is this world that I can trust. Do you understand that?" he practically spat at her as he began pacing the floor. She nodded frantically. He was upset, she knew, and he had good reason to be. Claire was his niece, they had a special connection between them. It still stung, knowing that on some level, even if it was subconsciously, he didn't trust her.

"Wouldn't the Company have had all that information filed on us? We know that not everything was destroyed when I burned it down," Gabriel muttered sheepishly.

"He's right," Noah agreed grudgingly. "A lot of files disappeared. They could be anywhere."

"Okay," Audrey breathed. "We have an alternative." She smiled warmly at Peter, though he could still see the shadow of pain in her eyes. Peter groaned inwardly. He had screwed up, again. He knew that Audrey wouldn't resent him for it; she was too quick to forgive his faults, afraid that she would drive him away otherwise. Peter admired her faith in him, but it sometimes felt like too much to live up to. Especially right now.

"So, if we know how they got the files... what are they doing with them? Why are they abducting specials?" Gabriel mused out loud. No one could answer. The group sat in silence for several moments, the only sound in the room being the ticking of the wall clock in the kitchen. As hard as Audrey thought about it, she had no ideas to input. Her mind couldn't focus, all she could think about was her dreams...

"My dreams!" Audrey gasped, breaking the long silence. Everyone swung their heads around to look at her. "For the past couple weeks, or so, I've had the same dream, over and over. My dreams have warned me about the future before," she said, smiling at Peter.

"What did you dream about?" Gabriel was highly curious. He leaned unconsciously towards her from across the kitchen island.

"In my dreams, it's always dark, so I can't see them. I can feel them, though, and hear," Audrey shuddered. "They cut me open, experiment on me, they bleed me until I'm almost dry. They want to test my capabilities, and see the extent of my ability. Sometimes, they talk about 'extraction', and giving my power to a more 'worthy' person."

"Those bastards are experimenting on my Claire!" Noah yelled, spit flying from his mouth.

"Noah, calm down," Peter commanded. Audrey could tell that he was struggling to keep it together, to be the mature one in the room. Underneath it all, however, she could see the shocked panic that he was trying to hide from Noah and Gabriel. He couldn't hide from her. She knew him too well.

"if their eventual goal is extraction... God, it's like Pinehearst all over again," Gabriel muttered to himself.

"No," Peter disagreed. "It's worse than Pinehearst. They, at least, had morals when it came to abducting specials. They were civil about it." Audrey snorted. Being civil hadn't prevented them from abducting her at her workplace and knocking her out with tranquilizers in the middle of the street. Peter took her hand and rubbed it between the both of his comfortingly.

"But," Gabriel sounded confused. "If they wanted to give abilities to people, wouldn't they want to take Audrey?" Audrey glared at him, until he stammered and back tracked. "Not that I'm suggesting we hand you over, or anything, but giving abilities is sort of your thing..."

"True, but as far as I know. No one has any files on me, with the exception of the UNPS," she answered. "I take great pride in the fact that I managed to stay off of Company radar for so many years." She glanced at Noah, and he shrugged.

"We had heard rumors, and we documented all reported sightings, but we never had even information to tag you." Audrey took that as a form of compliment.

"So, here's what we're going to do. Noah, do you think you could track down Molly Walker?"

Noah looked confused, but comprehension was quick to dawn on his face. He was not a man to miss much. "We can ask her to help us locate Claire."

Audrey nodded. "Exactly. Can you find her?" Noah gave a noncommittal shrug, but their was a light of hope in his eyes.

"I believe she was placed in the care of Child Protective Services, after they took her away from Matt and Mohinder as temporary care," he answered. "I'll make a few calls, get in touch with a few of my government contacts. I should be able to track her adoption."

"Perfect. Peter, Gabe?" She already had Gabriel's attention, but it took a moment before Peter's eyes snapped to her. She could tell that Gabriel's offhand comments several moments ago had upset him. "Call up all your other special friends. Let them know what's happening, put them on red alert. They may want to take refuge in one of the UNPS safe houses." Gabriel nodded. Noah was already on the phone, presumably talking with Child Protective Services. Audrey turned to pour herself a mug of coffee, but Peter grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry," he pleaded with his voice and eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I trust you, I do. I'm just-"

"Worried?" she answered for him. "I know. I don't blame you."

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. "You never do. You seem to think that I'm perfect. I'm not, Audrey. I try to be the best I can, for you, but I seem to fail at it everyday."

It was Audrey's turn to roll her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laced her fingers together, pulling him closer. "Did you ever think that, maybe, you're just perfect for me?" She raised an eyebrow at him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Now go! Call people! Do as I say!"

Peter chuckled. "I love it when you order me around," he whispered suggestively.

Audrey laughed. "You ain't seen nothing yet," she winked. The smile fell from her face though, as she turned more serious. "Peter, we're going to find her, I promise."

"I know," he said confidently, but his eyes betrayed him. "I know you'll do everything you can."

"Oh, will I?" Audrey raised her brows. "What makes you assume that?"

"Because," Peter smiled," You love me." Audrey's heart fluttered.

"You know I do," she said, pressing her lips to his again.

Miles away, Claire Bennet found herself strapped to a cold, metal gurney in a dark room, fearing for her life. Her arm was speckled with dark spots of blood, seeping from wounds that had already healed. She felt light-headed and woozy, but the copious amounts of blood they had drained from her were being replaced at a quickened rate. "Please," she whispered to no one. "Help me."


	21. Chapter 21: Not Again

March, 2013**  
><strong>Belle's Laundromat**  
><strong>New York City, New York****

Finally, Audrey was getting the laundry done. She had sworn to do it several weeks ago, but Audrey was notorious for finding excuses not to do the laundry. She hated laundry more than any other household chore. It was only after seeing Peter dig into the deep recesses of his closet and pull out clothes from when he was in high school in his search for clean laundry, she finally caved. So now she sat in the dingy little laundromat, depositing quarters into the machines slot and trying not to think about who's smelly socks had been in the machine before her clothes.

The whirring of the machine was relaxing, however, and Audrey leaned her face against the cool metal. She hadn't had much time to relax lately. The apartment was constantly abuzz with visitors, and she and Peter never seemed to have time alone. Gabriel seemed to have made his permanent residence on their sofa, at least, he claimed, until everything with Claire was over. Once he knew it was safe, he would go back to his own apartment. Noah was over at odd hours, day or night, he didn't care. Any time he scrounged up some new bit of information, he would stop by to tell them in person.

It was stressful, having so many people rely on you. Audrey had almost forgotten that in her short time with Peter, before everything had gone crazy. During the years she had spent traveling the globe, aiding other specials, they had relied on her for so much. Her time with Peter had seemed a blessing after that, even if it was only a few, short months of bliss and relaxation. Now, they were back in the fray, saving the world. Just another day in the life of Peter and Audrey.

The worst part of it all was the strain it put on Peter and Audrey's relationship. They weren't having any problems, exactly, or any arguments. But it seemed that no matter what they did, they were constantly separate from one another. They had to be, to cover as much ground as possible, if they wanted to save Claire. Small moments; a kiss here, an embrace there... things like that kept them from falling apart. But every one of those stolen moments made Audrey feel incredibly guilty, like she was wasting time that she should be using to help Claire.

They were only slightly closer to finding Claire as they had been a month ago. Noah had managed to track down Molly Walker. It turned out, that after Matt and Janice had gotten back together, they had applied for legal custody of Molly. Noah had spent several hours on the phone with Matt, convincing him to let them visit Molly. Matt had agreed, albeit grudgingly. Peter was planning on flying over to L.A soon to pay them a visit. Just another trip that would keep them apart.

The laundromat door opened and closed, and a gust of cool March hair hit Audrey in the face, forcing her awake. She hadn't realized she had dozed off, the washing machine was beeping at her, indicating that it was done its cycle. Audrey gave her self a mental shake, and shifted the wet clothes into the dryer. She dug in her pocket for more quarters.

Beside her, a tall man, dressed in black from head to toe, pulled random articles of clothing out of a duffel bag and shoved them into the washing machine closest to her. He was wearing a black turtleneck, with the neck high enough that it partially covered his face. He was also wearing sunglasses. In her sleepy state, Audrey felt a faint flicker of suspicion. Sunglasses in March, when the sky was over cast like it was?

The man reached his hand into his bag again, and Audrey turned back to hear dryer machine. She couldn't shake off the suspicious feeling, it was like an uncomfortable prickling up her spine. She reached deep into her pocket and found a quarter. Smiling, she knelt down in front of the dryer and deposited the change. The strange man rummaged in his duffel bag.

Suddenly, Audrey heard a clicking noise, and felt the cool metal of a revolver press into the back of her head. The man in black had pulled the gun out of his bag. "You move, you die," he threatened. Audrey nodded. She would heal, she knew, but he had her right in her kill spot. Whether he knew that or not, Audrey didn't know. "If you attempt anything funky, like flying me out that window, my associates and I will kill your boyfriend." Audrey stiffened. The man chuckled. "That's got you attention, now, hasn't it?"

Audrey felt the sting of a needle in the back of her neck, and her vision swam around her. _Not again, _she thought fuzzily. She slumped backwards, and the man set down the gun to catch her. "Aren't you lucky," he whispered in her ear, the last words she heard before she blacked out. "You get to help us rebuild the future."


	22. Chapter 22: Gone

Peter was freaking out. More than 4 hours had passed since Audrey had told him she was stepping out to do the laundry. Peter didn't have much experience with laundromat machines, having no interest in them himself, but he was almost certain that Audrey should have been back by now. He couldn't shake the horrible, awful feeling that something had gone wrong.

"Peter, are you even listening to me?" Noah asked, exasperated. Peter's eyes refocused. He was sitting in his living room chair, leaning his face against his closed fist. Noah had been rambling at him for... who knows how long, and Peter had simply zoned out.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Noah heaved an annoyed sigh.

"Look, I appreciate you helping me, but if you're too tired, or preoccupied, I can go see Gabriel-"

"No, no, it's okay," Peter interrupted him. He rubbed his face against his hand and sat up straighter. Noah looked at him with concern.

"Peter, are you sure you're all right?" he asked. Noah sat down in the chair opposite Peter and leaned forward, resting himself on his elbows. "You know you can tell me if somethings troubling you."

"It's Audrey," Peter blurted out. "Before you came, she left, saying she was going to get some laundry done, run a few errands, and she isn't back yet. And I have this feeling... somethings not right, Noah," he explained, letting the true weight of his concern and fear seep into his tone. Peter thought that Noah would wave it off, or try to minimize the situation, but he was wrong. On the contrary, Noah sat up straighter, and a similar look of fear lit his eyes.

"How long ago was this?" he asked urgently.

"About 5 hours."

Noah leaped up to his feet. "The she should likely be back by now." He reached into his pocket and dug out his cell phone. "Call her," he commanded Peter, tossing him the phone. Peter dialed Audrey's Cell number, a number he knew off by heart. The phone rang, several times. Her voice mail picked it up.

"She's not answering." Noah swore.

"Do you know where she would have gone?" he asked Peter frantically. The panic in his voice affected Peter more than his words ever could have. Noah was as concerned as he was. Something was definitely wrong. Audrey would never let the phone go to voice mail, especially if she knew that he was the one calling.

"Belle's Laundromat... It's just around the corner." Noah took off at a brisk pace out the door. Peter followed close behind, forgetting to grab his coat despite the chilly weather. When the pair made it to the street, Peter started running. His panic grew with every step he took. Noah followed close behind, his hand at his hip, ready to draw his gun if need be.

The laundromat was mostly empty when the arrived, the only occupant was a short and stout woman, sitting next to her machine and reading the latest issue of _Cosmo_. Only one other machine in the place was in use. As Peter and Noah burst in through the door, the machine beeped loudly. The short woman shot it a dirty glance. "That damn thing's been going off for the last hour or so. Lady never came back for her clothes or nothing."

Peter knelt on the floor in front of the dryer machine. Sure enough, that was Audrey's favourite t-shirt from Space tour. Peter lowered his head. On the floor, tipped on its side, was Audrey's purse. Her phone, wallet, and credit cards were all still inside. "Ma'am," Peter asked over his shoulder at the woman doing her laundry. "What happened to the woman who was doing her laundry here?"

"Had a fainting spell, she did. Just collapsed right on the floor. The nice gentleman in black offered to take her outside for some fresh air," she answered, before turning back to her magazine. Peter shuddered. The man in black... Just like with Claire, just like with all the other specials. Peter rose shakily to his feet. He turned to face Noah, and Noah could see the terror in Peter's eyes, and the pain. It was the same look on Noah's face when they had taken his Claire.

"They took her, Noah. She's gone."


	23. Chapter 23: Chained

Audrey woke up in the dark. The room was not dark, she could make out the barest hint of fluorescent, artificial light, but she could only see around the edges of her blindfold. She was sitting, she felt the cool touch of metal on her back, and her arms were chained behind her. She pulled upwards, and heard the rattling of chains as they strained against the bolt holding them to the floor. She pulled again, harder, shaking with a soundless scream. Peter would be missing her. She needed to get back home, back to Peter.

"Damn it, you bastards!" she shrieked. She felt moisture on her cheeks as tears of rage leaked from her eyes. "Let me go!" A gentle tapping sound came from behind her. Audrey whipped her head around to face the noise. "You let me out of here right NOW!"

"Temper, temper," a distinctly male voice tutted. "Is that any way for a young woman to behave?"

Audrey grit her teeth together in what she hoped was a menacing leer. "Let me out of these chains and I'll damn well show you how a young woman behaves," she snarled ferociously. The man laughed without humor. Obviously, she wasn't as menacing as she had hoped.

"And such language! Really, I don't know what your generation has come to," he sighed. He was an older man, Audrey gathered. Lashing out at him would get her nowhere, it seemed. She struggled to reign in her vicious rage, and adopted a pleasant smile. She didn't need to see herself to know how fake and false it would appear, especially given the situation.

"Well, perhaps if you removed my blindfold, I should look upon the face of the generation that I should aspire to be more like," she said in a sickeningly cheerful tone. The man chuckled again.

"Your attempts at theatrics astound me. But, I see no reason why not." She felt hands, rough and calloused, at the back of her head and she struggled not to shudder at the touch as he unknotted the strip of cloth covering her eyes. The blindfold fell away, and Audrey blinked in the sudden brightness. Her eyes adjusted, and she found herself in a setting similar to a police interrogation room. She was facing a large, two-way mirror. She heard footsteps as the man stepped around her chair and paused in front of her.

He was an older gentleman, his hair completely white, a thick cloud above his head. His face was wrinkled, and may have been pleasant if it wasn't for the calculating look in his eyes as they raked over her. He was immaculately dressed in a crisp, gray suit. Audrey gave herself a moment to fully adjust to her surroundings. The man waited, patiently. Audrey smiled at him.

"You really have no idea who you're messing with," she threatened. She drew on her power, and flung everything she had at him. Nothing happened. The man observed the look in her eyes and laughed again, this time with actual mirth.

"Oh, I know exactly who I'm dealing with, Audrey Whytmor." Audrey froze. "Yes, rumors about you have flown around the globe for years. The most powerful special in existence, how could you not come to our attention?' he mused. "After your mishaps at Pinehearst, we decided to take further precautions before your capture," he explained.

"What do you want with me?" Audrey spat at him.

"Here at my organization," Audrey's eyebrows rose. This man was in charge, the one responsible for all the attempted kidnappings over the past several months. "We are of the belief that these... mutations, these powers that you so called 'specials' have... well, it's not really fair, is it? Why would a higher power give powers to some, but not all of the human population? And when so many of your kind are so undeserving of your gifts..."

"We didn't choose to be like this. You can't control who has abilities and who doesn't."

The man smiled, in an incredibly creepy fashion. "But you can, Audrey. Of all beings populating this planet, you alone can give abilities, and take them away... Imagine, Audrey, a world where you didn't need to fear your powers? Where no one would be special... because everyone would be."

"You must be crazy!" Audrey exclaimed. "The kind of chaos that would create... I'll never help you." she asserted firmly.

"Oh, you won't have a choice," the man's expression turned dark. "I will create my Utopia, and you, Audrey, will assist me. I would much prefer you be a willing partner... however, if need be, I'm not above involving your lover. I'm sure with him around; it wouldn't take much to convince you to do what I ask... Peter, is that his name?" he taunted.

"Don't you dare touch Peter!" Audrey threw herself to her feet, stretching as far as her chains would allow her. She wanted to destroy this man, tear him apart, and create in his mind a hell he would never escape from. "I swear to God, if you lay a hand on him, I'm gonna-"

"Guards, please, shut her up," the man sighed as Audrey thrashed and raged at him. Two men entered the room, each of them taking her by an arm. Audrey struggled violently, but she felt the sting of a needle on the back of her neck, and for the second time that day, she lost consciousness. She fell back into her chair, eyes rolling back into her head.

"Such a shame," the man tsked. "I had really hoped we would do this the easy way. Take her to the cell," he ordered. The man strode purposefully out of the room, followed by the guards, dragging Audrey's unconscious body between them.


	24. Chapter 24: The Walker System

Peter and Gabriel touched down in L.A shortly over a week after they had discovered that Audrey had been taken. In that time, Peter hadn't slept for more than a handful of hours at a time, and he hadn't eaten much either. He couldn't. Sleeping eating... it felt too normal. Audrey was missing. Nothing was normal, nothing felt right, without her by his side. He hadn't truly realized how much he needed her, how much he loved her, until she was gone.

Noah had finally talked something out with Matt. The moment Peter had gotten Noah's call; he had flung himself off his balcony and was traveling towards L.A at supersonic speed. Gabriel had barely been able to catch up. They touched down gently now on the pavement in front of the Parkman household. Matt was waiting for them. His eyes narrowed when he saw Gabriel.

"He's not allowed inside," were the first words Matt said to the pair of them. "Hi, Peter," he added as an afterthought, though his gaze remained a fixed glare on Gabriel's face.

"Matt, don't be like that-" Peter pleaded. His voice was hoarse, and it hurt his throat to talk.

"I don't trust him. He may have changed now, but he used to be Sylar," Matt countered. "I don't think Molly would take too kindly to a visit from the man who murdered her parents, and tried to murder her. Twice." Peter opened his mouth in retort, but Gabriel laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't. He's right," Gabriel tried sounding firm, but Peter could hear the pain and regret in his voice. "You go in there, and find your girl. I'll wait out here." Peter looked at him in protest, but Gabriel just nodded and pushed him towards the door. Sighing, Peter followed Matt inside.

"You know I'm still not too keen on using Molly like this," Matt told Peter as soon as the door was shut behind them. "We have no idea who these kidnappers are. What if they have someone like my Dad on their side? Someone who can give people nightmares, project visions into their heads? I don't want Molly to have to go through that again." Matt ranted for a moment, then sighed. "She must be really special, this girl you're trying to save."

Peter turned back to Matt, and saw the look of intense concentration on his face, the one he always had when he was reading someone's mind. Peter let all the walls around his thoughts down, and tried to show Matt what Audrey was to him. Every kiss, every whispered 'I love you'... Memories, like eating ice cream in the park, or Audrey singing him to sleep after a hard day at work. Her pure soprano hitting every note perfectly...

Peter felt Matt leave his mind, and heard him gasping suddenly. Matt had tears in his eyes, and he wiped them away as he stared at Peter in amazement. "She's everything, Matt," Peter stated simply. "I need to find her." Matt nodded in agreement, the set of his jaw tightened firmly.

"Follow me," he said, and he led Peter through the cheerful home. It was a Saturday, and Peter caught a glimpse of Janice sitting in front of the television with Baby Matt. Or rather, toddler Matt, as he had to be at least 3 years old now. Little Matt lay a hand on the TV, and the screen went black. He smiled and giggled, and the screen lit up again. Touch-and-Go Toddler, Peter thought.

The room Matt led Peter to was near the back of the house. The first thing Peter noticed was the excessive amount of pink in the room. Molly was lying out on the bed, her red hair splayed around her, headphones in her ears. When she saw Matt and Peter, she rolled onto her stomach and pulled the headphones out of her ears. "Hey, Matt. What's up?"

"Molly, this is Peter, and old friend of mine. He needs your help to find someone," Matt explained. Molly sat up with interest.

"You said I wasn't supposed to find people anymore, unless it was an emergency," she said, confused.

"This is an emergency," Peter spoke from behind Matt. "Her life is in danger, and I need to find her as fast as I can." Molly looked doubtful, so Peter changed his tone. "Someone," he said, almost playfully," told me that you can find _anyone, _anyone in the whole wide world." Molly beamed at him.

"I can. I just think about them, and I know where they are." Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He removed the picture of Audrey. It had been taken in the apartment, a few weeks after they had met. She was standing by the window, holding a cup of coffee as she smiled beautifully at him with his camera. He handed the picture to Molly. "She's pretty," Molly commented. Peter swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Yes," Peter whispered.

Molly studied the picture a moment longer. She glanced up at Peter again. "Do you love her?" she asked, completely serious. Peter almost laughed. _Love_ seemed to be a bit of an understatement.

"More than anyone. More than anything."

Molly bit her lip as she thought about this. "Okay. I'll help you," she said. Peter resisted the urge to jump around and dance. Molly reached down underneath her bed. She fumbled for a moment, and then pulled out a book containing maps of the cities in the United Sates, and a small box of pushpins. She pulled out one of the pins and opened the book. Holding the pin in her right hand, the book open in her left, she took once last look at the picture of Audrey. Then she closed her eyes in concentration.

Peter waited, eagerly and impatiently. Molly's brow furrowed, and a frown appeared on her face. Her eyes snapped open. "I could see her," she explained. Peter's heart rate jumped erratically. "She was chained to a chair. She looked angry. "

"Where is she?" Peter demanded, struggling to remain composed. Molly turned to him with a sad look in her eyes.

"I don't know."

Peter's heart sank in his chest. "What do you mean, you don't know? How could you not know?"

Molly looked truly apologetic. "It's like something's blocking me. I could see her, but it was almost like she wouldn't let me see where she was," she explained.

"Damn it!" Peter shouted, clenching his fists. Molly flinched on the bed, and Matt stepped protectively towards her. "It's Audrey. One of her powers prevents other specials from being able to use their abilities on her," he cursed. "Stupid... I should have thought of that."

"I'm so sorry," Molly squeaked from the bed. It was only then Peter realized how much he must be scaring the poor girl. Raging and cursing. Peter struggled to calm down, taking deep breath after deep breath.

"It's not your fault," he said. "I'm sorry." Peter turned to Matt. "I'm sorry," he choked. Peter couldn't stay in there any longer. "Thank you, Molly," he said hurriedly, before he rushed for the door. Matt reached to stop him, but Peter dodged his hand and quickened his pace. He exited the house, and launched himself at the sky, ignoring the protests of Matt and Gabriel behind him.

"What's the deal?" Gabriel demanded, suddenly popping up beside Peter in mid air. He grabbed Peter's shoulders and forced him to a standstill. They hovered there as Peter forced the tears back.

"Molly can't find her. Audrey's stupid shield is up." Gabriel cursed.

"We aren't giving up, Peter."

"Damn right we aren't! I have Molly's ability now, I can find Audrey! I'll search day and night if I have to-" Peter shoved away from Gabriel's grasp, but Gabriel only held on even tighter.

"And what use will you be to her; if you show up to rescue her and you're dead on your feet?" Peter didn't have an answer for that. "You aren't the only one who needs her around, Peter. She's one of my only reasons to hope I can change who I was." Gabriel admitted. "I miss her too."

Peter sighed. "I know." Gabriel nodded as he let Peter go. The two of them flew back to New York in silence. The whole time, Peter's thoughts were filled with Audrey. Somewhere out there, she was chained up, angry, scared, and alone. He just didn't know where. _Damn it, Audrey_, he projected his thoughts out around him. _Where are you?_


	25. Chapter 25: First Meetings

April, 2013**  
><strong>Location Unknown

Audrey woke up in a strange and new cell. For the past couple of weeks - at least, Audrey assumed it had been weeks - they had kept her in a small, dimly lit cell in a cold cellar, with only a cot and a hole in the corner to use as a washroom. They had brought her meals twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. Oatmeal every morning, soup every night. With every meal, there was a new injection of drugs, different drugs every time, so she had yet to build an immunity. She would pass the time curled up in a ball in the corner, singing softly to herself and dreaming of Peter.

This was not that same cell. For starters, it was much bigger. Audrey could tell by the way she was able to spread her arms to their full extent in both directions as she lay of the floor. The cool cement soothed her warm skin. Audrey realized suddenly that she felt sick and feverish. She rolled onto her side and vomited on to the floor.

Cool hands pulled her hair back from her face. "It's okay," a soft voice reassured her. Audrey craned her neck around. Warm green eyes smiled at her from a dirt-streaked face, and waves of blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders.

"Claire," Audrey breathed. "Claire Bennet?" Claire nodded, sitting back on her heels as Audrey pushed herself up, propping her weight on her elbows. Audrey almost laughed at the irony of the situation. She had been trying to rescue Claire from this place, only to get captured by the same people.

"How do you know my name?" Claire asked.

"I _was _supposed to be rescuing you from this place," Audrey laughed without humor. "You father came to Peter and I shortly after you were kidnapped." Claire nodded, unsurprised.

"That's sounds like my dad. Always trying to rescue me," she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm Audrey," Audrey introduced herself, extending her hand. Claire shook it warmly.

"So, you know Peter?" she queried politely.

"I'm his..." Audrey paused. The word _soulmate _sounded tacky when used in casual conversation. "I'm his girlfriend," she said, almost grimacing at the word. Girlfriend didn't really begin to cover it. Claire looked surprised.

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend," she exclaimed. Audrey laughed.

"Neither did he, not really." Claire's brow furrowed with confusion, so Audrey explained. "He met me for the first time about 6 months ago, when we started dating. But I've known him for almost 6 years. I used to dream about him every night. Eventually, the dreams came true." Comprehension dawned on Claire's face.

"You're a special!"

Audrey nodded. "What I do is fairly similar to what Peter does. With a few distinct differences." Audrey made her tone more urgent. "Claire, do you know why they have us here?"

Claire nodded. "When they took me, they said it was because of the healing powers in my blood. It's been used to cure people, revive them. They thought that, if they could make the effects more permanent, they could create other self-healing beings." Audrey nodded. It made sense, in theory. "They were pretty angry when they couldn't make it work," Claire continued. "They talked about finding another special, they started asking me about rumors that had been flying around about a girl who could return powers to specials who had lost them..." Her voice trailed off, and she stared at Audrey, amazed. "You?"

"In the flesh." Audrey shrugged. "It's something I picked up a few years ago."

"I had heard rumors, and we documented them all at the UNPS. But I thought they were just that: rumors. I didn't think it was really possible." Claire exclaimed.

"It's very possible," Audrey confirmed. "I was able to give Peter his original ability back."

"Then they want to use you to create their 'Utopia'" Claire spat, putting air quotes around the word 'Utopia'. Audrey was glad that Claire seemed to share her disdain for the whole idea.

"It's never going to happen," Audrey assured her. "I wouldn't do that."

"Oh, I don't think you'll have a choice."

Claire and Audrey whipped around to see the door. The man was there, dressed in another crisp, clean suit. He eyed the vomit on the floor with distaste. "Someone, please clean that up," he spoke over his shoulder. He then turned his attention back to Audrey. "Come along, my dear. There's someone I want you to meet."

Audrey still felt nauseated, but she rose shakily to her feet. She took several steps towards the man, and he extended his hand towards her warmly. She spat in his face. "Bastard," she growled. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he used to wipe Audrey's saliva off of his face. He motioned with his hand, and two guards stepped around him to pi Audrey's arms to her sides. Audrey didn't struggle, she just stood, smirking at the man. Then she felt the needle sting at the back of her neck, and she toppled back into unconsciousness.


	26. Chapter 26: Congratulations

Audrey woke up in the same interrogation room as she had the last time. She was alone except for a guard standing in the farthest corner of the room. He was a solemn-faced and broad shouldered fellow, and he held one hand at his waist, lovingly running his hands over the gun holstered at his side. Every so often, he would look towards Audrey and his finger would twitch on the trigger, as if he were imagining pointing the gun at her head and shooting. Not that it would do him any good, but Audrey didn't feel the experience of dying would be a pleasant one.

"So... do you come here often?" Audrey asked cheerfully. The guard looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Oh, the strong and silent type? Yeah, I've dated guys like you before," Audrey bantered aimlessly. "Assholes, all of them. And don't even get me started on the mommy issues... ugh!"

"Shut up," he growled.

"Oh, it speaks!" Audrey exclaimed in mock surprise. "Congratulations, you're not as dumb as you look!"

"I said, Shut up!" The man pulled his gun from his holster and cocked it at Audrey's head.

"Easy, there, soldier. We still need this one," the man spoke from behind Audrey. She saw him in the mirror. Someone stood in his shadow, just out of Audrey's vision. The guard saluted to the man respectfully and stepped back, sliding his gun back into its holster. The man walked further into the room, and his shadow followed. It was a teenage girl, maybe 16 years old, dressed in black clothing, with short, purple hair spiked up in all directions.

"Hello again, Audrey. Comfortable?" the man asked, taking in her hands chained at her back once again.

"Absolutely. I'm loving the five-star hospitality here," Audrey said with scathing sarcasm. "I only wish you'd thought to put a Jacuzzi in my cell."

"Sarcasm does not become you, my dear," the man laughed dryly. Audrey gave him a very obvious eye roll.

"Who's the kid? Yours? You seem a little old to have a teenage daughter."

"Audrey, meet Zoey. She's here to help make sure you behave," the man explained, as Zoey smiled. Audrey heard the hidden meaning behind his words, and interpreted it. She was filled with disgust.

"You're going to kill her if I don't meet your demands?" Audrey spat. "You're really that low?"

"You misunderstand me, Audrey. Zoey is someone very special. Much like you." Zoey had an expression of extreme smugness on her face. It clicked in Audrey's head. Zoey had an ability too. The man saw the light in Audrey's eyes. "Yes, you understand now. Zoey has been helping me for quite some time. She's been instrumental in locating several of your kind. You see, Zoey is a finder of a different sort. Not only can she locate people, but she can sense specials and their abilities."

"That's how you found Claire, and Gabriel," Audrey realized. Peter would be relieved. He had placed his trust in the right people, for once. The UNPS hadn't been infiltrated after all.

"Exactly. Zoey has been very willing to help. So,m when I asked her to help me find your lover, Peter, and bring him in... well, she was in agreement." The man smirked as Audrey's face fell. She felt as if the world was falling to pieces around her. Not Peter...

"Please... don't..." Audrey's pleas fell on deaf ears. The man turned to Zoey and nodded. Zoey smiled her smug grin and closed her eyes. Audrey imagined her power working, locating Peter's abilities, hunting him down so they could bring him here, torturing him to make Audrey do what they asked. Zoey looked confused, and her lids flickered slightly as her face drew into a frown. Then, without warning, her eyes snapped open and she laughed.

"Oh! How unexpected!" her voice chimed, high and musical.

"What is it?" the man asked, uncomprehendingly. "Did you find him?"

"I don't believe I need to. It seems Audrey has been holding out on us," she smiled in Audrey's direction, but Audrey didn't return it. She was confused. Why didn't they need Peter anymore. Zoey watched the emotions that crossed Audrey's face, and it dawned on her, "Or maybe, you just didn't know!" she laughed. "Well, let me be the first to offer you my congratulations."

"Congratulations?" Audrey asked stupidly.

"On your upcoming little bundle of joy."

Audrey froze, her expression one of shock and horror. She counted backwards in her head. She did it again, just to make sure. The numbers all fit. She remembered her nausea earlier.

"She's pregnant?" the man asked, as surprised as Audrey was.

"Definitely. Almost two months, I'd guess. Harder to tell, considering these aren't exactly the ideal conditions for a pregnancy," Zoey mused. Audrey felt a flicker of fear for the baby. How would all of this, the lack of nutrition, the drugs, affect him? Audrey pictured the baby as a him. The replica of his father, with soft, dark baby curls falling above his amber eyes. Peter's baby. Her baby.

The man's sudden laugh broke Audrey`s train of thought. "Soldier! Remove her chains!" he ordered. The guard stared at him like he was crazy, but her did as he was told. Audrey barely had a moment to flex her wrists before the guard had seized her shoulders and held her at arms length. The man reached beneath his suit jacket and pulled out a small gun. He pointed it at Audrey's head.

"You think that scares me?" Audrey scoffed, but it sounded less impressive with the fear infecting her tone. "I'll just heal, and you'll only piss me off."

"I know that you aren't threatened with your life, Audrey. You would rather die than commit to our cause," the man sneered. "But are you so willing to sacrifice your unborn child?" Slowly, his gun dropped until it was pointed at Audrey's stomach. "You will heal from this, but will your baby?"

Audrey shuddered at the thought of losing her child, Peter's child, at the hands of this lunatic. She hated him, she realized, a deep, passionate loathing. It scared her, feeling that so strongly for another person. She wanted him dead, she wanted to kill him herself. Before he hurt Peter or their baby. Audrey stared at the gun in his hand intently, willing herself to use her powers, to turn the gun on him, to force him to squeeze the trigger and end his own life. The man raised an eyebrow to her silence, and his hand twitched on the gun's trigger.

"Wait! I'll do it!" Audrey cried. Tears fell, from her eyes, as the man gave a small nod of his head. The guard threw her down to the floor, where Audrey curled into a tight ball. She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, shielding her unborn child from the ruthless killer before her. The man smiled as she lay at his feet, a terrifying and triumphant grin.

"That's more like it."


	27. Chapter 27: Finder

Peter sat alone in his apartment, the living room unlit despite the gray storm clouds that had covered the sun. In his lap, a detailed map of the city was spread open, and more maps lay strewn about the coffee table, floor and kitchen island. Maps of the United States, of North America, even a world atlas. In his hand, Peter held a single pushpin. A bright red one. Red to symbolize his love for Audrey. Red for luck. Red for passion. Peter didn't care what it stood for anymore. He only wanted to find her.

Leaning against the wall behind the couch were several painted canvases, depicting various scenes. An empty park, and empty apartment, the charred remains of a building. Peter's attempts to paint the future. He had hoped to catch a glimpse of were Audrey was, or where she might be. But every scene he painted was empty. Peter wondered if that was because Audrey had no future. Maybe she'd already been taken from him; maybe she was somewhere that he couldn't rescue her. Peter shoved those thoughts aside. No. If Audrey was dead, he would know it.

Gabriel and Noah had been in several times to check on him, bringing him food and words of comfort. Peter wanted none of that. He only wanted to find Audrey. Claire had taken the backseat on his list of priorities, and despite his feelings of guilt about that, Peter knew that he would never have been able to put his best efforts into helping Claire so long as Audrey was missing. He assumed that they were being held by the same people. If he found Audrey, he would find Claire to. That would make up for it.

"Peter?" Gabriel called softly from outside of Peter's apartment. Peter ignored him. His eyes were tight shut with concentration as he focused all of his senses, all of his abilities, onto the image of Audrey in his mind. He heard a small click, and assumed that Gabriel had used telekinesis to slide the lock open. Gabriel stepped into the room. "Peter..."

Peter raised a hand to silence him. He felt Audrey now. He could feel her pain as if it was his own, though he couldn't quite locate its source. She was afraid. Not for herself, but for... "Agh!" Peter roared in frustration, and he hurled the map off his lap, into a crumpled heap on the floor. "I can't get her Gabriel!"

Gabriel looked solemn as he walked over to where Peter sat and picked up the crumpled map. Peter buried his face into his hands, biting his lip to hold back the tears that were threatening. Gabriel studied the map carefully before folding it neatly and placing it onto the jumbled mess of the coffee table. "Peter," Gabriel began with a careful tone. "You've been working at this for weeks now, and you aren't getting any closer to finding Audrey. Maybe you should just..." Gabriel's voice faltered.

"What, give up? Accept that she's dead?" Peter lifted his head and glared at Gabriel incredulously. "I can't do that, Gabriel. You, of all people, should know that." Gabriel opened his mouth to speak again, but Peter wouldn't have that. He jumped up to his feet. "I can't believe that you had the gall to claim to be her friend, claim to _love _her, and now you want me to abandon her!"

"Peter, that's not-" Gabriel took a step back instinctively and raised his hands, but Peter cut him off again.

"You know, that's exactly the kind of sick, twisted mind games I would have expected from the old you, _Sylar_!" Peter spat at Gabriel. Gabriel's brow furrowed, but he didn't retaliate. He stood their calmly, as Peter vented his anger and frustration and pain out on him. For some reason, this made Peter even angrier. With a quick shove of his hands, Peter had flung Gabriel back several feet, until he crashed against the door frame. Gabriel groaned as he pushed himself up to his feet.

"Peter, calm yourself-" Before Gabriel could finish his sentence, Peter had flipped Gabriel onto his back with another twist of his wrists. Some small part of his mind knew that he was being irrational, that he should calm down and listen to Gabriel, but the rest of him burned to take revenge on someone for what had happened to Audrey. His eyes burned with a deadly fire, and Gabriel saw it. Calmly, he twitched the fingers of his right hand, and Peter found himself pressed up against the window, straining his muscles as he fought for freedom. Gabriel rolled himself up to his knees and, keeping a hand pointed at Peter, rose to his feet.

"Peter, I care about Audrey just as much as you do," Gabriel said, taking slow, measured steps towards Peter. His voice was low and controlled. "Perhaps in a different way, but she's my closest friend and I'd do anything to protect her," he stated firmly, and he was close enough that Peter could not doubt the sincerity in his eyes. "I'm letting you down now." Gabriel said, and he slowly lowered his hand. Peter slid down the wall, falling to the floor. Down there, Peter took several deep breaths, forcibly returning himself to a state of calm. He rose until he was almost level with Gabriel, and leaned back against the wall.

"Okay," he conceded. "So what do we do?"

"Stop looking-" Peter opened his mouth to protest, but Gabriel raised a steady hand. "-for Audrey, at least. With her brother's shield, there's no way that you finder-power will be able to locate her. She's the only one who can consciously lower her shield, and she won't do that so long as she may be in danger." Peter nodded. Gabriel was being logical, which Peter found more than slightly annoying.

"Okay. We'll stop looking for Audrey," Peter choked the words out. He felt a lump rise in his throat. It felt too much like giving up to him."What then?"

Gabriel placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He knew how difficult it must be for Peter. "We have to assume that whoever took Audrey also has Claire. There just aren't enough anti-special agencies out there that're crazy enough to abduct people with abilities. The answers been right in front of us the whole time, Peter. Part of the reason they took Audrey was to distract us from finding Claire."

Light dawned on Peter's face. "They knew we were close to finding Claire using the Molly," It made perfect sense now. "They knew that I would stop at nothing until I found Audrey, knowing that I'd never be able to find her!"

"You played right into their hands," Gabriel asserted sympathetically. "But now we know. So let's find Claire, and you girl."

Peter was filled with a new energy that accompanied his sudden joy. He would be able to find Audrey! He swept up the maps that were strewn about the table, and lay them all out in a row across the floor. His hand found the pin again, and he rolled it between his fingers. Peter took a deep breath in and out and he forced Audrey out of his mind. It was difficult. He had spent nearly every waking moment thinking of her since they had met. But Peter only allowed himself to focus on Claire. He thought of the way his niece made him feel, her easy laugh, her gift. He pictured her clearly in his mind, huddled in the dark corner of a strange cell. And he knew where she was. He felt his hand sink of its own accord and push the pin into the maps beneath him. He opened his eyes. Washington.

"Bingo," Gabriel smiled. Peter's lips cracked into his lopsided grin, his first smile in the many weeks since Audrey had been taken.

"We've found her, Gabriel," Peter's voice cracked with emotion.

"Now, let's go get her."


	28. Chapter 28: Rescuers

Audrey stood shivering in the cell. She was exhausted from the exertion of power. Twice now, the man had forced her to transfer abilities to other individuals; first the guard in her cell, then a nameless volunteer, a thirteen year old boy that they had seized for testing. Audrey had almost wept at giving abilities to that boy. He had been so young, so excited. . He didn't know what a curse being special was.

"Again," the man ordered. Audrey shook her head vigorously. No more. But the man cocked his gun, and pressed it against the thin fabric covering her stomach. Audrey shuddered, not from the cold, but from fear. Every time it was the same. The man would demand she pass on abilities. She would refuse. He would threaten her baby, and she would do anything he asked of her. "Again," the man whispered his voice dangerous. Audrey sighed and nodded her head. "Excellent!" the man crowed. He waved a hand at the door, and the next volunteer walked in.

Audrey glared at the man with as much hatred as she could muster, before turning to her volunteer. A young woman, in her twenties, staring at Audrey with obvious fascination. Audrey gave her a questioning look, trying to convey to her all the pain and trials that would come with her decision. The woman didn't move. Audrey placed a hand on either side of her head.

This transfer of power felt so bland, so emotionless after what she had experienced with Peter. She had no connection to these people, no love for them. Only pity. Audrey searched through her arsenal of powers. They had weaned her off the drugs, just enough that she could transfer abilities, but not so much as she could access them. The drugs they had been giving her restricted her powers absorbed from specials, but nothing else. Audrey passed over her more dangerous abilities, and the ones that would cause harm to others. She toyed with the idea of human flight for a moment, but she couldn't do it. Flight was something that she still felt belonged to her and Peter.

The young woman shifted beneath Audrey's hands. She was impatient. Audrey decided that she would be a speedster. Audrey focused on the ability, and felt her energy being drained again as she passed it on to the young woman. Her strength rose, although only slightly, as she absorbed the ability again. Audrey felt her knees about to give way, and she snapped her eyes open. Her chair was waiting behind her, and Audrey collapsed into it. "Done," she gasped breathlessly.

The man looked at the young woman. She stared around her, confused. "I don't feel any different," the young woman complained. "Why don't I feel any different?"

"Try running," Audrey got out between deep breaths. The young woman glanced at her apprehensively, but leaned forward into a ready stance. Then she disappeared. Audrey felt the whoosh of air as it swept past her, creating a cool breeze that soothed her feverish skin. Then she heard a laugh. The young woman stood behind her, her expression one of exhilaration.

"That's incredible!" she laughed again. Audrey smiled sadly. It was pretty incredible. For now. The man also smiled, and he waved at the guard posted just outside the door.

"Please escort the young lady down to testing, if you will," he asked politely. The guard gave him a rigid salute, and then grasped the young woman by the arm. The pair of the exited the room, the young woman still beaming from ear to ear. The man turned to Audrey. "See what you did?" he said excitedly. "You gave that young woman happiness! A future! Together, we will make that happiness spread worldwide!"

Audrey glared at him still. "No more. Not today. I'm so exhausted that it might kill me. And if I die, the baby dies, and you have nothing to threaten me with," Audrey declared. The man looked disappointed. He opened his mouth to speak, but just then, Zoey ran in. She looked out of breath, and her eyes flashed between Audrey and the man with some fear.

"There are intruders. Two of them. Specials," Zoey gasped.

"Who?" the man demanded, placing his hands on Zoey. When she shook her head, he gave her a small shake. "Who is it, Zoey?"

"I don't know! They're telepaths! As soon as I realized they were here, they managed to shut me out!" Zoey explained frantically. The man let go of her.

"That is most unfortunate, Zoey." he tutted. Zoey hung her head. The man glanced towards Audrey. "I would assume that it's someone here to rescue you. So much for not having anything to hold against you," he muttered quietly, but Audrey could still hear him. She stood shakily, rising to her feet, but he waved the gun at her. "Stay down!" he ordered. Audrey sat.

The man paced the floor for a moment, clearly deep in thought. "Let them come to us," he decided. "Post guards in all of the halls. If the guards are not obstacle enough, they won't want you getting hurt now, would they," he smiled at Audrey. The man pulled a walkie talkie out of one pocket, and began giving orders. While he did this, he handed the gun over to Zoey. The young girl looked shocked for a moment, but then a hard resolve came over her features. She pointed the gun at Audrey's stomach again.

"Don't move," she ordered, but her voice came out squeaky. Audrey shook her head. She wouldn't move. She would wait for her rescuers to come, and she would pray that they would be okay. She would pray for her baby's sake that it wasn't Peter.


	29. Chapter 29: Saving Audrey

Peter led the way as he and Gabriel approached the warehouse building. It was a ramshackle, dirty brown building on the docks of Grays Harbor in Washington. The sign on the chain link fence said _Danger: Keep Out. _Peter melted the metal away with a burst of flame from his hands. His jacket caught on the sharp metal edges of the hole he had created, but he pulled through. Gabriel was right behind him.

"This is the place?" Gabriel questioned skeptically. Peter nodded. Now that he was so close, he almost felt as though he could feel Audrey, sense her waiting for him.

"This is it. She's somewhere in there," Peter confirmed. "They both are," he added as an afterthought. Peter still felt guilty about abandoning the search for Claire as soon as Audrey had gone missing. He knew that Claire would forgive him. She would never hold something like that against him. But he held it against himself.

The door to the warehouse creaked slightly as Peter pushed it open. He stopped and blinked in surprise. Peter had been expecting a large, empty room, perhaps with Audrey and Claire trussed up in a cage in the corner. He was instead met with a long, dark hallway, twisting out of his sight; He glanced at Gabriel over his shoulder, who nodded him forward. Peter stepped carefully into the hall. The pair of them walked silently, not speaking, pausing only to silently debate about which way they should turn. They met no resistance, and as they plunged deeper and deeper into the warehouse, Peter found himself growing uneasy.

"Shouldn't we have encountered a guard, or something, by now?" Peter questioned Gabriel in a low whisper. Gabriel shrugged, but Peter could tell from his face that he didn't feel right about it either. They reached a staircase. One way, down to a basement level. "I guess we go down, then," Peter murmured under his breath. But as he stepped into the stairwell, someone whipped around the railing at the bottom of the stairs and fired three shots in quick succession

"Gabriel, get down!" Peter yelled, as one of the bullets caught him in the abdomen. The other two sailed harmlessly past his head. Peter heard Gabriel grunt as he flung himself onto the floor to avoid the bullets. Peter ducked around behind him. "One got me. Can you take that guy out?" Peter gasped in pain. Gabriel nodded, and with a flick of his hand, the guard at the base of the stairs flipped onto his back and smashed his head off of the concrete floor. He lay there, unconscious.

"How bad is it?" Gabriel asked, still staring intently at where the guards had just been. Peter groaned in response. He lifted his shirt. Blood oozed sluggishly from the wound. Peter felt pain searing through him as the bullet hole pulsed, and it spat out a small bullet, along with copious amounts of blood, all over his jeans. The wounds closed quickly, and disappeared.

"I'm good," Peter grunted, flinging the bullet aside. He felt light headed from the blood loss, but that would pass shortly, as he well knew, He'd been shot too many times in the past for his liking. "The guards are all on the second level. We'll have to keep our guard up," he warned, and Gabriel nodded. The two of them pushed themselves back to their feet again, Gabriel giving Peter a hand up. "Let's go," Peter said determinedly, at Gabriel followed him down the stairs.

Another wave of guards met them at the bottom, but Peter and Gabriel were ready. Peter dispatched 6 at a time as he directed a steady stream of flames towards them. The guards ducked out of the way, or else rolled on the floor to extinguish the flames. Gabriel knocked head together, flung guards against walls, and forced them to the floor. Then Peter dove into their minds.

This group, the ones who had kidnapped Claire and Audrey, was called Kamillik, and it was run by a man simply known as 'The Boss'. They were very much like Pinehearst; their goal was to give powers to all people, to create a Utopian world in which everyone was special. Audrey was the key. Audrey gave abilities. They had taken Claire at first, to see if her healing abilities could be transferred, but it hadn't worked. So they had hunted down Audrey. Peter was filled with loathing as he pried into the minds of the men. When he was finished, all 50 of them fell into an unconscious heap of bodies, snoring on the floor. It was better than they deserved, Peter thought.

"What'd you get from them?" Gabriel asked. "Do they know where Audrey is being held?" Peter nodded.

"I got the location for Claire's cell, too. Come on." Peter took off at a run, and Gabriel was close on his heels. They didn't encounter any more guards along the way. They must have not been very organized, Peter thought, if they had sent all the guards to attack them in one place. Peter could sense Audrey even stronger than before, her mind calling out to his. His inner compass led them to a section of halls that were slightly less pleasant than the rest. The light was dimmer, the air colder. At the end of the hall, there was a door, slightly ajar. Peter closed his eyes, and he could feel Audrey. He nodded for Gabriel's benefit. "She's in there."

Peter felt as if he couldn't contain himself anymore. He strode forward with quick, determined strides. He filled his palms with fire, just in case, as he flung the door open wider and walked into the small cell. He saw an older man, dressed in a crisp suit, pacing in the corner of the room. He saw a young girl, a teenager, holding a gun with a wavering hand, pointing it directly at Audrey. Peter took in Audrey's exhausted form, full of anger and relief, as he saw her slumped in a metal chair, looking terrified and exhausted.

Audrey drew in her breath sharply. There was Peter, her knight in shining armor. Her heart sped up at the sight of him. "Peter," she breathed elatedly. She was both thrilled and terrified to see him there. Peter's face broke into a smile when he saw her, safe and alive, but he quickly composed himself as he turned to stare down her captors.

"I believe you kidnapped my girlfriend," Peter said, his voice dark and threatening. The man only chuckled, not intimidated by Peter's threats.

"Peter Petrelli. How good of you to drop by," the man taunted. "Dear Audrey here had let us know so much about you. She just knew you would try to save her, although between you and me, she didn't want you to." Peter's eyes flashed towards Audrey. She lowered her eyes, ashamed and afraid. Afraid of what the man would do to Peter now that he had him within his grasp. She pleaded silently with her mind to Peter, hoping that on some level, as her soul mate, he would understand her_. Get out now! Please, before he hurts you. Before he hurts our baby. ___

_Get out now_. The words echoed in Peter's mind, Audrey's voice pleading with him, but he shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "I'm not leaving without her."

"Well, then, you're not leaving at all," the man smiled. "This has really worked out quite well for me. With Peter here, I have no reason to keep the child as incentive. Mothers can get so emotional," the man chuckled. Audrey stiffened, and she raised her eyes to stare at him with horror. The man just smiled darkly. "Zoey, if you would please pass me the gun."

Zoey looked between Audrey and the man frantically. Her face was conflicted between the need to follow orders, and her unwillingness to harm an unborn child. Audrey gazed at her with tears streaming from her face. Zoey looked pained, but she took a deep breath and handed the gun to the man. "Excellent," he breathed, tightening his hand around the trigger. Then he grabbed Audrey by the throat and lifted her up. Peter started forward.

"No, no," the man chided Peter, waving the gun tauntingly. He pressed the muzzle against Audrey's stomach. Peter was taken aback. He knew it wouldn't kill her, he had seen her heal before. The look on Audrey's face... the tears that flowed relentlessly from her eyes... He paused where he stood. "Very good." the man chuckled.

"Please." Audrey whispered. That was all she said.

"You have nothing to offer me in this situation," the man's breath was hot as it tickled her ear. The cold metal of the gun pressed closer. Audrey could feel it pinching her skin. Then she heard the soft click as the man turned the safety off.

"No!" she shouted. Suddenly, she was filled with a blinding rage. This was her baby, Peter;'s baby, the only thing that she loved more than him in this world. No one would hurt him. Her anger overwhelmed her every sense, blocking out light and sound and smell, filling her vision with red. She felt power coursing through her, finally unlocked in her blind rage. With a final loud shriek, she let it out.

Peter watched, amazed, as Audrey glowed with a brilliant white light. All the power she had held back in the past months of her captivity, all bursting to the surface in one moment of fear and anger. The man with the gun flew back several feet smashing into the mirror glass. The glass fractured on impact, shattering into a fine powder that settled over the man as he crumpled in a heap on the floor. Blood trickled from his scalp, and his eyes stared, wide and unseeing, towards Audrey, The gun tumbled from his hand.

Audrey blinked and her vision refocused. She saw the man, lying dead on the floor. Then she turned and saw Peter. He was the most beautiful sight that she had ever seen, blood plastering his shirt to his body, his hair falling over his eyes. Audrey stepped forward tentatively. She lifted a hand and brushed it against his face, pushing his hair up to his forehead. He leaned his head into her hand, breathing in her soft scent. "Hey," he whispered.

She smiled at his anti climactic greeting. "Hey yourself," e chuckled in reply. Then she threw herself at him. Their lips met, and Audrey felt the sparks ignite as the never had before. She felt the heat of his skin, of his breath, of the fire in the air around them, as they moved their lips together. The kiss was one of, love, of comfort, of happiness. She could sense his mind, his agony at her loss, his joy in finding her safe and sound once again. He felt her pain, every tear, and he cried with her. As they slowly pulled apart, she could see the tears glistening in his eyes.

"I love you," she sang at him, smiling for the first times in weeks.

"I love you more," he countered playfully.

"Hey, what's going on in-" Gabriel turned into the cell. His eyes widened as he took in the scene: Audrey and Peter wrapped around each other, the man lying dead on the floor, even Zoey, shivering alone in the corner. "Who's she?" he asked, pointing a finger towards Zoey.

Audrey beamed at Gabriel, and she detached herself from Peter to give her best friend a hug. Then she frowned as she turned to Zoey. Zoey looked frightened as her eyes darted between the trio. "Please, don't kill me," she pleaded quietly.

"We're not going to kill you," Audrey replied tenderly. Peter looked at her in confusion. This wad the girl who had held her at gun point only minutes ago. Audrey returned his questioning glance. "We can take her to the UNPS. They can deal with her," she reasoned. Peter nodded in consent. Gabriel stepped forward, and placed a hand on Zoey's forehead, She trembled at his touch.

"Relax," he said soothingly. Zoey slumped to the floor, unconscious. Gabriel picked up her limp body and slung her over his shoulder. "Where's Claire?" he asked, turning back to Audrey and Peter.

"Follow me." Audrey led them out of the room. They left the man's dead body lying in its pile of glass. Audrey slipped her hand between Peter's fingers, feeling his closeness, relishing his touch. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze, and Audrey smiled. She placed a hand tenderly across her stomach. She had Peter with her now, and her baby. Her best friend. Everyone that she loved.


	30. Chapter 30: Brighter

Audrey stood in the apartment, clutching the woolen blanket tight around her shoulders. As soon as they had gotten Claire and flown back to New York, Peter had waited on her hand and foot. She showered, changed into sweatpants and a clean t-shirt, and he had made her a steaming hot cup of coffee. Audrey stared at the mug, untouched on the table beside her. Was she even supposed to drink coffee, or would it cause even more potential health concerns for the baby?

It had taken hours before Audrey had managed to convince Peter that he needed to shower and change himself. He had been so preoccupied with her; he hadn't remembered the blood drying on his skin, and the hole that the bullet had ripped through his shirt. It had taken many kisses, caresses, and reassurances that she would still be there when he got back to get him to leave her alone for even a few minutes.

Now Audrey waited, and she wondered. She had been living happily with Peter for nearly five months before the kidnapping. They were in love. They were happy. Would the baby change any of that? Audrey wasn't sure how to tell Peter. How do you drop a bombshell like that on a guy, even if you're pretty sure he's your soul mate? Audrey knew that Peter would do right by her, and that he wouldn't leave her, at least for the bay's sake. But did she really want a relationship like that? One where they felt obligated to be together, and not because they genuinely wanted to be together?

"Audrey?" Peter called from the bathroom. Audrey didn't answer, lost as she was in her own thoughts. "Audrey!" Peter flew around the door frame, and skidded to a halt in the living room. Audrey glanced up at him in surprise, and Peter sighed in relief. "You didn't answer me... I thought..." his voice trailed off. Audrey knew what he had thought. That somehow, someone had come and taken her away from him again. That she was lost to him. Audrey smiled reassuringly, and held out her hand to him.

"Come here," she ordered, and Peter smiled. He took her fingers in his own, and Audrey pulled the pair of them down until they were sitting on the couch. She sat beside him at first, but he rolled his eyes at her and pulled her up onto his lap. Audrey buried her face into his warm shoulder, still damp from his shower. Water dripped from his bangs, and it tickled her neck.

"Are you okay?" Peter murmured, kissing her hair. Audrey thought about it for a moment. Was she okay? She shrugged. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

Peter leaned his cheek against her head, and Audrey could hear him taking deep, even breaths. "What they did to you," he said through clenched teeth. Audrey could feel him trembling with anger beneath her. And she raised a hand to touch the side of his face.

"It doesn't matter anymore. They can't hurt me here," she soothed him.

"I'd never let them," he growled. Audrey laughed a short peal of mirth. She realized that it was the first time she had laughed in months.

"I know you wouldn't," she smiled into his shoulder. Peter tightened his arms around her, pulling her into an almost crushing embrace. Audrey could hear his heart beating. "How did you find me?" she asked him, tilting her head back as far as she could so she could look into his eyes. "I used Kyle's shield, so you shouldn't have been able to locate me, even if you did find Molly Walker."

Peter almost chuckled. "Honestly? I stopped looking for you."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "That's romantic. What kind of white knight stops looking for his Princess," she scolded him, but she was proud that he had figured out a way around her shield.

"I knew that I could never find you as long as you had your shield up. I also knew that you knew I would never stop looking for you, and so I'd never find you. Gabriel called me out on that one. So I stopped looking for you, and instead I focused on Claire. And I found you," Peter smiled triumphantly. Audrey pressed her face back into the niche of his shoulder.

"Thank you, for giving up on finding me," she said, without any sarcasm. She was so proud of him, for finding a way to get to her. She loved him more than he could ever know.

"You're welcome," he smiled. She could sense uneasiness still in his mind, however.

"Ask me anything," she told him. Peter cast his eyes around the room. He had found her, true, but he hadn't found her fast enough, He had no idea what that man could have done to her in a month.

"Did they... Did they hurt you," Peter inhaled sharply.

Audrey shook her head. "Not especially," she told him, but she shuddered at the thought of how they could have hurt her. What the man could have done to her baby. Peter felt her shudder against him, though he didn't know why. He just thought that she wanted to spare him the gory details. He wished that Audrey hadn't dispatched the man so easily, so that he himself could have killed the man who hurt the woman he loved.

"Did they... Did you do what they wanted you to do? Create more specials?"

Audrey sighed. "Yes," she answered him honestly. She thought of the guard, the little boy, and the young woman... the lives she had ruined. To save her baby's life. She knew she was selfish to do so, but she didn't care just then. "The guard... I gave him strength. And there was a young boy, whom I gave the power of flight. And a woman, I gave her speed." Audrey cringed at the memory of the excitement on the woman's face as she discovered her power. No, her curse.

"Why?" Peter asked, genuinely curious. "They wouldn't have been able to hurt you, so torture couldn't have forced your hand. And Claire would heal too, so they couldn't use her as incentive. So what did they do to you?"

"They knew that there was only two ways they could hurt me. Two ways they could make me do whatever they wanted," Audrey admitted to him. "The first way, would be for them to hurt you. That's why I couldn't have you finding me." Peter rolled his eyes at her concern for his safety. Audrey knew, however, that if the situation had been reversed, he would have done the same.

"And the second way?"

Audrey drew in a deep breath. She couldn't put off telling him much longer. _No time like the present_, she thought. "The second way ..." Audrey inhaled again," the second way would be for them to hurt our baby."

The room was quiet. Audrey had her eyes clenched shut, and she could see nothing but black against Peter's shoulder. He didn't speak, didn't move. She couldn't even hear the sound of him breathing. Audrey cracked her eyes open, and tiltled her head back. Peter's gaze was fixed on the wall opposite them, his eyes opened wider than Audrey would have thought possible. Audrey waited a moment, and she felt her heart sinking in her chest. Peter blinked, and he gave his head a small shake. "What?" he said dumbly.

"I'm pregnant," Audrey stated simply. Peter turned his face towards her, his expression shocked. Audrey saw some emotion hidden behind his eyes, but she couldn't make out what it was. He shifted beneath her, and Audrey found herself scrambling down from his lap as Peter stood quickly. His paced the length of the room, stooping at the kitchen island and clamping his hands down on the edges. Audrey could see his knuckles turning white from where he gripped the island, hard. Tears stung at her eyes, and Audrey made a small choked sound that may have been a sob. "Are you... mad?" she asked, and she stood up shakily. Instinctively, she folded a hand across her abdomen, wanting to protect her baby from whatever Peter said next.

Peter made a strange wheezing sound, and for a moment, Audrey thought he was crying. Then he turned to face her, leaning back on his elbows against the kitchen island, and Audrey saw laughter shining in his eyes, and a smile lighting up his face. "A baby?" he chuckled, and his teeth flashed a grin at her. "Are you serious?" Audrey nodded blankly. Peter laughed again, and suddenly swooped forward and took Audrey up in his arms. He folded her into an embrace, and laughed as he lifted her feet off of the floor and twirled her around. Audrey found herself laughing too, and the tears that she had tried holding back fell; only now they were tears of happiness.

Peter set Audrey down on the floor, and pulled out of the embrace so that he could take her by the shoulders. His eyes searched her face, bright with emotion. "I love you," he breathed, and he pressed a kiss to her lips. He could feel her smiling against his mouth. His hands slid down to rest on top of hers, still folded on her stomach. "We're going to be a family."

_

When Audrey woke up, the sun was only just beginning to make it's ascension into the sky. The horizon was tinged with pinkish gray, but the stars were still visible in the sky. She could feel Peter lying in the bed next to her, and feel his warm breath on her back. Audrey closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. Then she felt Peter's fingers stroking her hair, brushing back the few stray strands that had fallen across her face during sleep.

"Hey," she whispered, rolling onto her other side. She could see him now, the dim light from outside just lighting his features. His expression was filled with such tender affection that Audrey wanted to hold him close to her and never let go. "Why're you awake so early?" she asked him.

"I had a dream," he smiled. "I was flying. With you."

Audrey smiled sleepily at him. "I remember."

Peter returned her smile, and then he turned his eyes from her face and looked down at his hands. He was fumbling with something small, twirling it in his fingers. Audrey caught a glimpse of light reflecting off of a small diamond. Her breath hitched in her throat. Peter heard the sound and turned his face back to her. His mouth opened, closed, and then he licked his lips carefully.

"Audrey," he squeaked, and coughed. "Audrey," he began again. "Ever since discovering that I had these powers, I've felt so... alone. Even when I found others like me, I never felt complete. I've spent years of my life searching for something to fill the gap. First, I threw myself in harm's way. I tried to find relationships to fill it. I saved as many people as I could, hundreds of lives. I even saved the world. Several times. And yet I still felt empty," he sighed. Audrey touched his face with light fingers, her expression incredulous. Peter took a deep breath and continued.

"Then, one night, I came home from my meaningless existence, and I found you. Waiting for me, the way you had been for years. It almost didn't seem fair. You had always known that we would be together, you were always waiting on me, and yet I had no idea what I was missing out on. At the same time, I didn't have to what, because I didn't know that you were coming. And suddenly, you were there, and everything had meaning again. I had a purpose. I fell in love, Audrey, with life... and with you," Peter paused and he took several deep breaths of air. He held up the ring in his hands. It was a small band of silver, set with three perfect white diamonds. "I love you, Audrey Whytmor. Will you marry me?"

Audrey stared at Peter, shocked. She hadn't expected a proposal so early in the morning. She found herself opening her mouth and saying the first word that popped into her head.

"Why?"

Peter started, taken aback. "What do you mean, why?" he asked in confusion.

Audrey's heart fluttered at the obvious confusion on Peter's face, but she pressed on with the worry that was nagging at her mind. "Why now?" Audrey asked, uncertain. "If this is just because of the baby... I don't want you to feel obligated," she stuttered.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "You think that I only want to marry you because of the baby?" Audrey paused to consider it, and then shook her head.

"No. I know you love me. I love you too. But the timing seems a little too convenient, don't you think?"

Peter laughed. "Audrey, I bought this ring in December. The day after I realized how much I loved you," he explained patiently. He smiled as he watched Audrey's face light up with wonder and amazement. "You're all I've ever wanted, Audrey. All I'll ever want." Audrey leaned forward and kissed him softly. She smiled as she pulled back, and she plucked the ring from Peter's hand. The diamonds gave of a sparkle as she slid the silver band onto her left hand. Audrey beamed at Peter, her face shining with light that reflected through the window onto her face.

"Yes, I'll marry you. But you already knew that, didn't you?" she laughed. Peter swept her into his arms, and they held each other until the sun had risen all the way into the sky. 


	31. Chapter 31: Saying 'I Do'

**July, 2013  
>New York City, New York<strong>

Audrey stood in front of the polished mirror, spanning the wall of the back room of the little country club. Today was the day of her wedding. Her long dark hair was piled loosely on her head in a messy bun, and small, blue sapphires glittered on the clips that held her hair in place. Angela Petrelli had given them to her the day before. Something blue. Her shoes, soft white sandals with small heels, had been lent to her by her cousin Sharon. Something borrowed. She wore a pearl necklace that had belonged to her mother, and her grandmother before that. Something old. Her dress was new.

The white gown was tied behind her neck halter style, and it scooped into a low neckline. It fit her form just along her ribcage, and then flared out into a soft, loose cloud of fabric that fell to the floor. The dress was style to minimize the effect, but Audrey could still see the soft curve of her distended stomach beneath the folds of fabric. Her baby. A baby boy, just as Audrey had guessed it was. Peter had taken her for her first ultrasound the day after he had proposed. Audrey had worried frantically while sitting in the waiting room. She didn't know how the drugs and the months of capture would have impacted the baby. Peter had requested every test possible to be certain that their baby would be healthy.

When Audrey first glimpsed the fuzzy, shadowy image of her baby, she had almost cried with happiness. Peter had had tears in his eyes as well, and he had stared at her adoringly. "That's our baby," he had whispered, overjoyed.

"A boy," the doctor said. "I'll run the other test, but he looks perfectly healthy to me. See, he's smiling at you." The doctor pointed at the screen. Audrey had smiled too.

Audrey smiled now as she examined her reflection carefully. Not in vanity, but because she was curious. She had changed so much in the past years, even more so in the few months that she had known Peter. Was she the same person who had first discovered her powers? She didn't believe so. She felt older, not just physically, but emotionally. This Audrey had seen much more than the old one. This Audrey had been kidnapped, witnessed murder, forgiven a killer, fallen in love... No, she wasn't the same. She was better. She rested a manicured hand on her bump, softly caressing the unborn child.

"You'll be a great mom," Gabriel said from behind her. Audrey could see his reflection in the mirror as he poked his head around the door. He looked striking in his black suit and tie, with his hair combed back in the style he had worn when Audrey met him for the first time. He was Peter's best man today, and he would be walking her down the aisle in place of her brother.

"You certainly look dashing," Audrey teased him lightly. "Come here." Gabriel stepped into the room obligingly. Audrey approached him, and fiddled with his tie until it sat straight. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at her as she fidgeted.

"Nervous?"

Audrey nodded. "A little," she admitted. She would never have admitted that to anyone but Gabriel. Not even to Peter. Gabriel was different. He was her best friend. After you forgive someone for killing your brother, you can trust them with almost anything. Gabriel understood her in a way that no one ever really could. He had seen her at the darkest point in her life, and she would always want him as her friend. Just as she would always want Peter to love.

"You don't need to be. You look beautiful." he smiled warmly at her. Then, with a sly grin on his face, he flicked the fingers on his right hand. Her veil floated up from behind her and settled on her head, shrouding her face in a white haze. Telekinesis was the only ability that Gabriel had left, which the exception of his original power. Audrey remembered when he had come to her, about a month after her rescue, to ask her to take away his abilities.

"It's too much, sometimes," he explained. "Every power is a reminder of someone that I hurt, someone that I killed. I want that to stop." Audrey couldn't have doubted the desperation in his tone, and she had obliged. She had removed all of his abilities, save for telekinesis and knowing how things work.

"You have a special psychic connection to that power," she had explained. "Telekinesis is the one gift that belonged to you more so than the others. I don't want to completely remove your powers, now that you've become so used to having them. You might do something stupid if I did," she had chuckled.

"What about my original... gift," Gabriel had hesitated on the word gift. It wasn't a gift, and they both knew it. "What if I want to hurt someone again, and steal their ability?"

"Gabriel, your struggle for control is a part of you now," Audrey had explained to him kindly. "It makes you who you are, and it gives you a reason to strive to be a better person. Its part of you now, Gabriel, and I wouldn't take it away even if I wanted to," she had said, wrapping him in an embrace.

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her now, holding her in a similar way. "You love Peter. Peter loves you. You have nothing to worry about," he reassured her. Audrey sighed into Gabriel's shoulder. He pulled away, resting a hand on each of her arms. A sudden swell in the music came from outside the back room. Gabriel smiled encouragingly. "That's our cue," he said, holding an arm out for her. Audrey grabbed her bouquet in one hand, and slipped her other arm through Gabriel's.

Gabriel pushed the door open, and the crowd watching stood as Audrey entered the room. She heard appreciative gasps from all sides as they took in her gown. Audrey only had eyes for the front of the room. The minister stood facing her, holding his bible in both hands. On one side of the altar, Mohinder, Hiro and Matt stood: Peter's groomsmen. On the other side, Emma waited as Audrey's Maid of Honor. Claire, Sharon and Angela stood close by, dressed in soft gray bridesmaid gowns. Peter stood in the center, closer to the men's side, with his back to her. Audrey could see him shaking slightly as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

Gabriel squeezed her hand as they reached the front of the church. He let go, and retreated to his place as Best Man. Audrey tilted her head back slightly, to look at Peter for behind her veil. His hair was smoothed back, but already, an unruly strand had fallen free and had flopped over his eye. Audrey stifled a laugh, and reached for Peter's hand. As she took it, he turned his face towards hers, and his eyes were full of adoration and awe. She smiled at him, her teeth flashing brightly, her dark brown eyes shining behind the white haze.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today-" the minister began, speaking the same words that had been delivered at millions of weddings before this one. Although, Audrey speculated, none of the couples were quite like Peter and herself. Two specials, probably the most powerful specials in the world, about to be joined together for what could potentially be an eternity. Hey, Adam Munroe had lived a couple hundred years. Audrey saw no reason why she and Peter wouldn't endure so long.

Even if they didn't endure, Audrey felt certain that her love for Peter always would. She loved everything about him. His warm eyes. The way his hair could never stay out of his face. His lopsided, boyish grin. The feeling of his hands, rough and calloused from working all day, on hers. The look on his face when he flew. The way he scrunched his eyes together when he was worried or annoyed. The way he threw himself in harm's way to save total strangers. And the way that he loved her too.

"I do," Pete spoke suddenly from beside her. Audrey hadn't even realized that the minister was done his speech. Now, he turned to her expectantly.

"And do you, Audrey Allyson Whytmor, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and health, for rich or for poorer, as long as you both shall live?" the minister asked.

Audrey glanced teasingly at Peter, and bit her lip as she pretended to ponder the question. Peter narrowed his eyes slightly, and an eyebrow was raised. "Yes, I do," she laughed.

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss - " the minister stopped talking, as Peter had already flipped the veil off of Audrey's face and was kissing her passionately. Audrey smiled as she kissed him back, and she threw her arms up and around his neck, mussing up his hair as she twined her fingers into it. Peter pulled back, and Audrey laughed breathlessly. Peter cocked his head to one side.

"What's so funny, Audrey?" he asked, and Audrey responded by laughing again.

"That's 'Mrs. Petrelli to you, O husband of mine," Audrey smiled, and pressed her lips to his again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ahsilaa - Always nice to hear that someone likes my stories :) These last chapters are for you<em>**


	32. Chapter 32: Happy Ever After

**October, 2019  
><strong>**New York City, New York**

The leaves of the trees in Central Park had turned a beautiful coppery red, and the ground underfoot crunched as Audrey walked along the winding paths of the park. The day was breezy, but Audrey was warm in her new jacket. Ahead of her, little Nathan was skipping along the path, laughing and whooping as he threw leaves up into the air. He was 5 years old, going on 6, and more beautiful than Audrey could ever have imagined. He had been born just 4 months after the wedding, a perfectly healthy baby boy. Peter had been right there with Audrey when she gave birth, and he had been the first person to hold their newborn son.

"He looks just like Nathan," Peter had laughed, and as Audrey had taken the baby into her arms, she had agreed with Peter. With a strong jaw line, and the most serious baby face Audrey had ever seen, their firstborn looked exactly like Peter's late brother. His namesake.

Toddling along just behind Nathan was their second son, Kyle. Kyle babbled and laughed as the leaves his brother had thrown settled on his head, his toes, and the arms of his jacket. At 3 years old, he was fascinated with the colors of the leaves, and the way they danced to the ground as they fell. Kyle glanced back at his mother, and Audrey smiled and gave him a little wave.

"Nathan! Don't get too far ahead, please," Peter called from behind Audrey. He quickened his stride to overtake her. He was pushing a double stroller, and the twins, Zachary and Alice squealed happily as they zoomed along. Peter cast a glance back over his shoulder at Audrey and rolled his eyes, and Audrey felt her heart flutter. It always did when he gave her one of his looks. After nearly 6 years of marriage, he still had the capacity to make her fall in love with him a little more every day.

The first year, they had lived in Peter's apartment, setting up a makeshift nursery in the living room. Gabriel was Nathan's godfather, and he would come over every day to play with the little guy. Sometimes, when Nathan wouldn't lay down for his nap, Gabriel would go in to Audrey's closet and bring out her brother's guitar. Then he would play and Audrey would sing, until Nathan finally fell asleep.

It was after one of these unofficial jam sessions, when Nathan was snoozing quietly in his playpen that Gabriel suggested to Audrey that she try again to make her career as a professional singer. Gabriel had become like her agent, and he arranged meetings and auditions and sent recordings to different labels and radio stations around the city. When Nathan was just over a year old, Gabriel finally got a call back from a record label. Audrey had spent months going in and out of their studio, recording songs, doing interviews, posing for photographs. The first time one of her songs was played on the radio, Peter had been preparing her a gourmet dinner. He had turned the volume way up, and the two of them had danced around the kitchen, singing along to every word.

When Audrey learned that she was pregnant with Kyle, she and Peter had decided it was time to move out of the apartment and into a real house. Peter had been eager, but Audrey had been considerably more reluctant. The apartment held so many memories for her. It was the first time she had met Peter outside of a dream. But the house they found was worth it. It was a two story, Victorian-style manor located on the edge of Central Park. It had a yard surrounded by hedges, and a small gap that led right into the park. Peter and Audrey took the kids for walks there all the time.

Today, however, was something of a special occasion. Audrey had just told Peter that she was pregnant again. A girl this time, she just knew it. Peter was taking them all into the city to their grandmother's house to celebrate. The park was just a nicer road to take. Up ahead, Audrey saw Nathan stop and wait patiently for his family to catch up. Kyle skipped circles around his older brother, tugging at Nathan's coat and throwing fistfuls of leaves at him. Nathan stood patiently through it all, and Audrey had to laugh at his serious, politicians face.

"What's so funny?" Peter asked, and he slowed his pace slightly to grasp Audrey hand. Zachary and Alice babbled incoherently, saying the random, nonsensical things that all infants say. Audrey beamed down at her babies.

"We are," Audrey said, smiling. "We're a family."

"Yes we are," Peter rubbed her fingers to warm them. "A family that loves and cares for one another."

"Not to mention, one with superpowers," Audrey reminded him, and Peter laughed. It was true, Nathan was already an accomplished telepath at 5 years old, and Kyle could fly faster than even his father. Zachary and Alice hadn't shown their abilities yet, which was something of a relief to Audrey. Two super-powered toddlers were more than enough to handle.

Peter stopped for an instance, and his eyes searched Audrey's face hungrily. "I love you," he said suddenly, and Audrey smiled as her heart fluttered in her chest again.

"I love you too," she answered, and Peter pressed his lips softly to her hand.

"Daddy!" Kyle squealed, almost falling on his face as he stumbled towards them. "Hurry up! Kiss Mommy later!" Audrey chuckled at Kyle's impatience. She knelt down in front of his, and held her arms out slightly for a hug. Kyle leaped into her arms, and Audrey held his little body close to her. Kyle pecked her on the cheek, and then looked up at Peter. "C'mon, Daddy," he said, grabbing Peter's hand and pulling on it. Peter rolled his eyes at Audrey again, as his son pulled him towards the road.

Audrey watched them, her family, and she touched her abdomen lightly as she thought of the newest, unborn addition to their family. If the baby was a girl, like Audrey thought she was, her name would be Destiny. Destiny, because that's what had brought her and Peter together. Destiny, because everything in her life, the good and the bad, had all been a part of destiny's plan, a bigger picture that she could only see in hindsight. Destiny had brought her to this ending, and as Audrey took hold of her husband's and her child's hand, she realized that it was the best ending possible. Her own Happily Ever After.

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>

* * *

><p><em>AN - Well, that's all, folks! The Fat Lady has sang... not literally, of course. Though I'm sure, somewhere in the world, a Fat Lady is singing. High-fives to her! I hoped you liked this story :) If you did, maybe you'll read my other story, Burns As The Phoenix: Book The First, the first in a series of Harry Potter fan fictions :D Thanks again!_


	33. Note to Readers

_Hi!_

_So, it's been a while since I've done anything with this story, or even Heroes, but I wanted to let you guys all know about a new Heroes fanfiction that I'm doing in collaboration with Gabriel12345._

_The story is set post season 1 through episode 1x23. Heroes: Hunted is from the POV of Danny, an amnesiac, superpowered dynamo who's being tracked by the Company, by one Agent in particular. Heroes: Hunted can be found of Gabriel12345's profile, and it'd be cool beans if you all would read it._

_Heroes: Hunting in the perspective of Wynn, a Company Agent with no past and something to prove to the Company that raised her. She hunts down Danny, without any expectations of just how suddenly things are going to change. Heroes: Hunting can be found on my profile._

_Anyways, thank you all so much for supporting my first Heroes story, and the awesome fandom in general. _

_I'd love to see what you guys think of this set of collaborations between Gabriel12345 and myself._

_You all rock!_

_Toodle-oo for now -_

_Skyelah_


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